I love science and candy. And, I think Pop Rocks are one of the greatest candies of all time!
Start by dumping a few of the tiny pebbles onto your tongue and, in a instant, they begin FIZZING, POPPING and SNAPPING about in your mouth.
What's going on here?
The secret behind the famous "popping" of Pop Rocks candy is pressurized carbon dioxide gas.
Each of the tiny little candy pebbles contains a small amount of the gas. These tiny carbon dioxide bubbles make the popping sound you hear when they burst free from their candy shells.
The popping is the sound of the carbon dioxide gas being released.
How Are Pop Rocks Made?
Have you ever made candy? Pop Rocks start like any other hard candy. Start by combining sugar and water, flavoring and bring it to a boil. With Pop Rocks, the hot sugar mixture is mixed with carbon dioxide gas under high pressure.
Tiny high pressure bubbles of carbon dioxide gas form in the candy.
When the hot candy mixture cools and the pressure of the gas is released, the hard candy shatters into tiny pieces of carbonated candy.
When the candy melts in your mouth, the bubbles of gas are released with a loud pop.
If you want to take this a step further, you and use carbon dioxide to inflate a balloon. Carbon dioxide is also the gas that is in soda. It makes soda fizz. Quickly open a bottle of soda and put a balloon on the mouth of the bottle and watch it inflate.