Skyscrapers and Soda Cans

Posted by Katharine M. J. Osborne Jun 26, 2007

Several days ago I went to have lunch at a friend's apartment in a skyscraper. He offered us canned soda, and I opened mine to get a mess of the sticky stuff all over my hands. My immediate thought was that the can had been dropped or shaken.

My friend was very apologetic, and said in an annoyed tone, that it always happened with the soda cans and he didn't know why. Then it occurred to me: pressure! He lives on the 31st floor of a skyscraper, so when he brings the cans up from what is essentially sea-level to at least 500ft above in a rapid span of time, the pressure builds and the carbon dioxide is ready to escape.

I don't know for sure though, but there is an easy experiment to confirm. By taking cans from the same batch (manufacturer), and taking half up the skyscraper, and opening both sets at the same time, my friend and I could confirm if it is the journey up the skyscraper that is causing the pressure build-up.