Flow of Coke as it reacts with Mentos and bubbles over the top.
Read more about the physics behind this reaction here:
Ross Cooper
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Flow Vis Guidebook
- Introduction to the Guidebook
- Overview 1: Phenomena. Why Does It Look Like That?
- Overview 2: Visualization Techniques
- Overview 3: Lighting
- Overview 4 - Photography A: Composition and Studio Workflow
- Overview 4 - Photography B: Cameras
- Overview 4 - Photography C: Lenses - Focal Length
- Overview 4 - Photography C: Lenses - Aperture and DOF
- Overview 4: Photography D: Exposure
- Overview 4 - Photography E - Resolution
- Overview 5 - Post-Processing
- Clouds 1: Names
- Clouds 2: Why Are There Clouds? Lift Mechanism 1: Instability
- Clouds 3: Skew - T and Instability
- Clouds 4: Clouds in Unstable Atmosphere
- Clouds 5: Lift Mechanism 2 - Orographics
- Clouds 6: Lift Mechanism 3 - Weather Systems
- Boundary Techniques - Introduction
- Dye Techniques 1 - Do Not Disturb
- Dye Techniques 2 - High Visibility
- Dye Techniques 3 - Light Emitting Fluids
- Refractive Index Techniques 1: Liquid Surfaces
- Refractive Index Techniques 2: Shadowgraphy and Schlieren
- Particle Physics: Flow and Light
- Dilute Particle Techniques - Under Construction
- Particles 2: Aerosols
- Particles 3: In Water - Under Construction
- Art and Science
- TOC and Zotpress test
- Photons, Wavelength and Color
29 Comments. Leave new
I really like how you are able to see inside the bottle and what is happening. I like the background, it makes me feel like i am back in middle school doing science experiments.
Great Idea. I was thinking of doing it. This phenomena is really interesting. Good work on capturing the photo in great location and great background.
This flow looks delicious – whenever I saw this experiment as a kid I wanted to drink from the fountain of foam shooting out of the top. Despite all the motion in your photo, the flow still looks crisp, and I love looking at the chaotic detail contained inside the bottle. Did you consider trying a bottle with a smaller neck so the jet of soda is more dramatic? Having the sun directly behind you did a great job of eliminating shadows, but the glare on the side obscures a little bit of the internal flow. Sanding the bottle with some fine-grit sandpaper would help scatter that light elsewhere. The warm, natural colors of the background fit with the iconography of the flow itself. Well done!
I really appreciate the focus of this picture. The bottle and the fluid flow is in perfect focus, and I guess this might be a controversial take but I think the background adds more than it takes away. It’s just fun seeing this outside. It would have been interesting to see more fluid shooting out, in true cartoon spirit, but if that didn’t happen then obviously it would’ve been impossible to capture.
I really like this image and where you went with the photo. Mentos and coke is always fun. I think the park background adds to the image as well bringing back memories as a kid doing this.
The centering and focus of the image. The timing of the photo was well thought as it caught the response of the fluid in the midstage as it exited the fluid. Does the background have a meaning to the image? Also, could you add shade to eliminate the exposure in the center of the image?
This is a great experiment idea! I’ve seen this done a numerous amount of times but never seen a still image right after the reaction. The background is a little distracting from the intended image though
Definitely a unique idea, photographing this well-known chemical reaction. The focus on the bottle brings the audience’ attention to the correct place, however, the background is a little distracting.
I think the stop action was well done. You may want to crop the image down, or use another background.
Great focus and color. I like the symmetry and placement of the coke bottle in the center of the image. I also like the texture and mixing colors of the reaction in the bottle.
Good composition makes the image so vivid. If the bcakground could be a bit simple, the image would be greater
A great flow scene! Have you considered changing the background of the image? The image is great with the timing, and i think it could be interesting to control the scene a bit more.
Also it could be interesting to show a few images of the time lapse side by side.
The liquid dynamic looks awesome. The chemical reaction is really interesting. It is a good idea to capture the reaction.
The layers of bubbles inside the bottle look very nice. Also the fast shutter speed froze the flow and helps to capture exactly what is happening at this specific point in time. The background is somewhat distracting but doesn’t detract from the image much.
This is a great representation of an interesting fluid flow. I like the swirling motion in the bottle as well. It would be nice to see a little less reflection off the plastic which could be achieved with more even lighting and a less reflective container. I wonder how it would look if you had a simpler background and zoomed in on the fluid flow aspect of the photo.
Very fun, nice center framing. Would be fun if it is more reactive. Perhaps my critique would be on the reflection coming off the bottle. This could look really cool in a controlled environment. Much more messy than doing it outside though lol
Love the experiment! Like how the camera captures the oxygen release within the soda creating a sort of swirl. Why not take a video of the expansion and spout created?
The picture captures the motion from the mentos so well, the idea of taking burst images is also a great call. how ever the shine on the front of the bottle kind of throws me off tho, if you did this somewhere darker it may have helped.
This is a great picture. The exit velocity from the bottle isn’t as high as I would have expected. Maybe a background that isn’t as distracting would help to focus on the bottle.
This is the nice image of flow. The focus on the bottle is great. Why did you choose this background? The park background is taking away from the flow trying to be displayed.
Love the classic coke and mentos experiment and it’s really cool to see the image of it. The flow color spewing from the top is pretty interesting. Maybe next time place a piece a paper behind the bottle to eliminate the tree in the background.
Classic experiment! I think you got a really cool image, so good job. I really like how it is dynamic and you can easily see the fluid physics. The only thing I would say is that the park background is kinda distracting. I know you wanted to do it outside, but if you could have someone hold up a poster board or tarp or something behind it I think that would help you focus more on the experiment.
The background is a bit distracting from the image. You could use a backdrop to make the action appear as the focus of the image!
The focus in this picture is great and the subject and your subject is framed really well. I think using a clear, smooth container would have led to being able to see the reaction going on in the bottle much better.
I think cropping or focusing more on the bubbling on the top could be more interesting. The colors are very vibrant which is cool. The glare on the front of the bottle is a bit distracting and I wonder if there is anything you could do to compensate for that.
Maybe you could’ve gotten closer to the photo and had a backdrop to increase the contrast and decrease the distractions. You were able to get fairly good focus on the area we are interested in!
This image is very cool! It depicts a great instant of the fluid flowing out of the top of the bottle. It is also very cool to see the base of the bottle where the mixing is occurring in cool patterns.
Nice mixture of coke coloring at the bottom of the bottle and colorful brown foam at the top. Like the background of the photo nice and bright. Cool spiral at the top.
That’s a great idea! Looks awesome and its super simple. I wonder what it would look like if you were to do it in a tall glass container and have a solid background with some studio lighting? Might turn out pretty cool looking.