The physics of champagne

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Champagne should be considered a mini-laboratory for the physics of fluids.” 

Physicist Robert Georges says that uncorking a champagne bottle produces supersonic shock waves. (New Scientist)

AIP Press release: Uncorking Champagne Produces Supersonic Shock Waves

Reference: AIP Physics of Fluids paper "Computational Fluid Dynamic simulation of the supersonic CO2 flow during champagne cork popping" Abdessamad Benidar,  Robert Georges, Vinayak Narayan Kulkarni, Daniel Cordier, and  Gérard Liger-Belair, Physics of Fluids (in press) (2022); https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0089774

I am fascinated by what people choose to study. It stands to reason that French scientists would choose to study champagne corks popping. After all, it has its fringe benefits. I am certain they do not simply discard the champagne, n'est pas?

But the most fascinating aspect is that no one has studied the physics of a champagne cork popping  before. I heard a statistic that the most common injury in Britain is now eye damage caused by errant corks popping. A cork travels about 50 mph as it exits the bottle. That can cause a lot of damage, even permanent blindness. The average bottle of champagne holds 6.2 bar (about 90 psi) of pressure, about three times the pressure in a car tire and enough to propel the cork 42 feet, according to one study. You would have thought someone would have studied the entire sequence of holding a bottle of champagne to popping the cork, to injuries sustained, and finally to the art of drinking the bubbly. 

Apparently, the consumption of champagne has become very chic in GB, most likely as a result of their high degree of success in producing the bubbly in the UK. Indeed, consumption in GB has been steadily increasing. Traditionally, Americans have been less in favour of the bubbly while the French consumed it with abandon. While sales of champagne plummeted in France in 2020, the pandemic had the opposite effect in many other parts of the world, especially the US and Russia where sales of sparkling wines and other luxury goods skyrocketed. People were working from home and fueling their staycations with champagne and sushi. 

Well, here we have it. While some study the physical effects of champagne behaviour, fluid dynamics in our house consist of swallowing without choking. I guess we'll have to be careful with our wines.