Physics question

[sraun]

Freezing question - how cold does a plastic bottle of Diet Coke have to get before it ruptures?

Comments

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

"Let's find out, Timmy!"

[gomeza.livejournal.com]

I'm not 100% it will, depending on how fast you freeze it. Here's why. PET is an extraordinarily high strength plastic, and as far as I know, doesn't lose it's ability to stretch until well below the freezing point of water. Water of course, expands near its freezing point, but once it expands, it's done expanding.

Come to think of it, I have never heard of a plastic bop bottle rupturing in the freezer... which is not to say that it can't happen. I'll bet if you could chill the plastic sufficiently cold that it loses its ability to stretch before the pop has finished freezing, perhaps by dipping it in liquid nitrogen, it would split.

I did a fair bit of Googling on things like PET, modulus, and cold, and didn't find any useful numbers.

Have you seen a pop bottle crack from cold / water expansion?

[sraun]

Not recently - I recall seeing a 2-liter bottle explode 10+ years ago. It could be possible that, for recent memory, I'm conflating reports of bottles and cans.

For my purposes, having the cap pop off is equivalent to having the bottle rupture. The real question is 'can I store a two weeks supply of six packs of Diet Coke in the trunk of my car all winter without creating a real mess?'

[pmrabble.livejournal.com]

Short answer to practical question: no. Damage was limited in scope to bottles being in plastic bag - I'd picked up some on the way down to Welch skiing and hadn't seen the forecast for (WTF - it's below zero and we're racing!).

There's also that nice point where CO2 gets driven out of solution - this could be a fun series of experiments!

Really Big Mess

[judith-dascoyne.livejournal.com]

Diet Soda freezes at a lower temp than non Diet.
When I worked at the convenience store we stored the soda out side EXCEPT for the diet, because it would explode. (and DID, it was a nasty mess to clean up.) And it gets colder where you are than here in Colorado.

One of the many problems with exploded soda cans is figuring out witch ones exploded, and being SURE witch ones did not.

Re: Really Big Mess

[gomeza.livejournal.com]

Cass: were those cans or plastic bottles. Scott seems to be asking specifically about 2L plastic bottles. There's no question the cans explode when they freeze. I've cleaned that mess.
:(

[gomeza.livejournal.com]

re; 2-liter: from freezing ? Interesting! I admit to being a bit ignorant on the matter.

as for storing them in the car - I wouldn't, but only because while I think the risk might be low, the consequences are severe. :)

[jbru.livejournal.com]

I suspect the problem will not be the Diet Coke itself, but the air in the bottle, having nowhere to go as the water in the pop expands upon freezing, causing the bottle to lose its water-tightness.

[kosmickitten.livejournal.com]

20 oz you shouldn't have much problem leaving them in the trunk for a workwork, because they have a higher air/to soda volumetric ratio than a two litre. The trunk is a better place for soda since the temperature stays more constant than the cab.

[coalboy.livejournal.com]

I don't think it would taste anything but awful, as the CO2 would separate.

[countrycousin.livejournal.com]

I would expect Diet Coke to freeze before most non-diet sodas, and that would be consistent with the experience noted above of having to keep the diet soda inside to avoid disastrous consequences.

But I have no data of my own.