CHEMISTRY OF COLD DRINKS/ SOFT DRINKS.

Abstract

We all love to have a sip of our favorite soft drinks (aka cold drinks, carbonated water or just soda water) when we are thirsty, especially in summers. And we also love to have a little fizz in it. This fizz is the bubbly effervescence that is produced by adding pressurized carbon dioxide gas to water. The aim of this article is to highlight the composition of cold drinks, the purpose of uses of its ingredients and their impact on human health and the chemistry behind these effects. Joseph Priestley was the first person to invent soda water. He suspended a bowl of water over a beer vat in a brewery and patiently waited to see what happened. Soon the bowl of water was fizzing with carbon dioxide released from the fermentation of beer. And that was how soda water was born. However, it was only in the later part of the 19 th century that soda water was introduced as a popular soft drink. Today, soda water is made by sending pressurized carbon dioxide through water. The high pressure allows more carbon dioxide to dissolve than it would normally be possible. The soda is then packed into an airtight bottle. When this pressurized bottle is opened, the gas rises to the top bubbling. And if you shake the bottle before opening, the soda will spill out splashing all over, when opened.