Applied Fizzics Field Notes

In Field Notes #6, we explain why you can't keep CO₂ molecules in solution with any gas in the headspace except CO₂. We present a simulator that explains this fact at the molecular level. From this, an important principle in physics called Henry's Law follows directly. The same principles outlined here also explain the physics behind forced carbonation.

In this edition, we're going to discover one of the most important principles in all of physics, Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures. We're going to see that that it explains how to keep the fizz in Champagne, and a great deal more. We present the concept of Dalton's Law with our Applied Fizzics molecular simulator that demonstrates how equilibrium works at the molecular level. When we are done, you will understand that no amount of air, Argon, or any other gas can keep CO₂ in solution except CO₂.

In this edition of Field Notes, we come back to our discussion of Champagne glassware. In particular, we re-examine the “80/20 rule,” the assertion that 80% of the CO₂ in a glass of Champagne is lost through molecular diffusion at the surface, and only 20% is lost through visible bubbles. Not so fast, our readers said. We then turn to a discussion of the effect of temperature on the solubility of CO₂. We present an interactive molecular simulator that allows the reader to investigate this dependency interactively.

In Field Notes #2, we discussed the fact that roughly 80% of CO₂ loss is from molecular diffusion at the surface of the Champagne, and only 20% from visible bubbles. So if your goal in your choice of Champagne glassware is to conserve the amount of dissolved carbon dioxide to the greatest extent possible, the tall flute is the clear choice. But there are other considerations that are just as important.

In Edition 2 of Applied Fizzics Field Notes, we're going to talk about three things: 1) How most of the dissolved carbon dioxide in Champagin quietly escapes by diffusing directly across the surface of the wine into the surrounding air, not through visible bubbles; 2) Why wetting a glass helps prevent foaming when pouring Champagne; and 3) Why a shaken bottle of open Champagne foams uncontrollably. Hint: It's not what you think.

Evan Wallace is a former physics professor from the University of Maine. He left academe in the 1990s and soon thereafter started Perlage Systems (later Applied Fizzics). An academic at heart, Wallace has now decided to turn Applied Fizzics into a physics classroom. Wallace feels that Applied Fizzics has given him the opportunity to share interesting ideas with thousands of people who enjoy asking "Why?" as much as he does. In this edition, he'll answer a deceptively simple question: Why do Champagne bubbles always come from the same few spots in the glass?