Why Does Gum Get Hard When You Drink Water?
It is a puzzling question why gum gets hard when exposed to water. The short answer is because the temperature of the water is colder than the temperature of the human mouth. The water tightens the elasticity of the gum, making it harder and less chewy.
Other People Are Reading
-
What Is Gum?
-
Gum was originally made from from the sap of the sapollia tree, which was also used to make rubber. Scientists in the 1950s replaced the sap from the sapollia tree with a synthetic rubbery plastic alternative. While other ingredients such as flavoring and coloring go into gum, the main ingredient that holds it together and gives it the gum characteristic is still essentially a synthetic rubber.
Warm Temperature
-
Gum is designed to melt and soften when heated up. Think about leaving gum out in the sun or on the car dashboard on a hot day; it will melt and be very sticky. When a human chews gum, the temperature in the mouth can reach above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, effectively melting the gum down from a solid block to a moist, chewy substance.
-
Cold Temperature
-
When cold water or even room temperature water comes into contact with gum, the rubber inside the gum loses its elasticity, tightens up and hardens because the properties of the rubber in the gum dictate that warm softens and cold hardens. This is true not only for gum but all rubbers like wires and rubber bands. If a hot liquid comes into contact with the gum (such as a tea) it will again be soft and chewy.
Chemical Changes
-
There is no chemical reaction that softens the gum; that is, it does not matter which chemicals interact with the gum, the hardness or softness of the gum is based solely on temperature and nothing else. The gum does not care if it is being exposed to ice tea, water, juice, milk or coke. It does, however, matter if the liquid is hot or cold.
Applications
-
Knowing that temperature affects gum is useful if gum becomes stuck on a carpet, hair or clothing. Applying ice to the gum will harden it, and it can then be chipped off the surface of whatever it is stuck to.
-
References
- Photo Credit bubble gum image by Tomasz Plawski from Fotolia.com
