With this one simple trick, you'll be able to take any bottle of soda, and pour out an
instant slushy on command. Now if you don't believe what you're seeing, that's ok, but
it is real, and in this project you'll discover the insanely easy secret to making an instant
soda slushy.
For this project, grab a bottle of room temperature soda, and start shaking it violently. We want
as much pressure to build up inside as we can get. Now I've done this with these 500mL
bottles, and set them in the freezer for 3 hours and 15 minutes. This is the point when
they're colder than freezing, but not actually frozen. Now you can show your friends that
it's just a normal soda, but watch what happens if we simply release the pressure, tighten
the cap, and turn it upside down. In just 3 seconds, the entire bottle has turned to
an icy soda slush. Pour it in a glass, and you'll get a good idea of how thick the slush
really is, and when it starts pushing up at the top you can see it's a light and fluffy,
delicious carbonated ice. Now let's try removing the pressure very slowly. This is going to
take a bit of patience, but when you get the cap off, you might notice, your soda didn't
freeze. If you pour it into a frosty bowl that just came out of the freezer, it'll ice
up right before your eyes. There's one chilled soda ready to be served. You could try keeping
your soda liquified by pouring it in a clean bowl, then freezing it by dropping in one
flake of ice. These crystals will grow rapidly, until your entire bowl is filled, and now
we have another chilled soda, ready for your enjoyment. On a bigger scale, like in a glass,
you'll notice that the crystals collect at the top. To get them to spread out, just take
a spoon, or a straw, and give it a little swirl. You should see the whole drink quickly ices
over. Now, if you're wondering why this works, it's because the liquid is supercooled and
actually wants to freeze. It just needs some help getting started. Now this works with
every soda, and sports drink that I've tried because it's the water in the drink that's
actually freezing. As the ice forms, the syrup gets trapped between the ice crystals, so
the slush keeps its flavor. If you try this yourself, keep in mind that every freezer
is a little different, so just play around with the time it takes to get your best results.
I tried supercooling canned soda and found that they work as well, but you have to release
the pressure very very slowly or they'll ice up in the can. When you do get them open,
you'll see the trick works exactly the same as the others. Well now you know how to super-chill,
your favorite soft drink, and master the art of the 3 second slushy. If you like this project,
perhaps you'll like some of my others. Check them out at www.thekingofrandom.com