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I was recently told that twisting off the bottle cap off a soda bottle slowly will make the soda stay carbonated longer.

Conversely, if I opened the cap off in one quick motion, it would get flat quickly.

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Is this true?

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    Releasing the pressure slowly approximates a Joule--Thomson expansion, which is close to a reversible (adiabatic) process that a sudden release. I don't know if this will preserves the carbonation or not, but it sure helps to prevent the stuff foaming over. – dmckee Sep 20 '11 at 17:28
  • Huh, I'd always been told the opposite -- opening it slowly allows the carbonation to be released from the soda more quickly. Something about the longer time to equalize the air pressure somehow "sucking" the carbonation out of the liquid. So I'm curious as to what answers this question may bring... – Kromey Sep 20 '11 at 22:35
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    I suggest extensive testing - please video the results :-) – Rory Alsop Sep 21 '11 at 10:34
  • I doubt the speed or releasing the pressure will have any effect on the delta percentage of carbonation loss. But I would expect that releasing it slowly would preserve more carbonation in the soda immediately after opening so the end percentage of the slowly released cap should be higher than the end percentage of the fast released cap. – Chad Sep 21 '11 at 16:24
  • Time for Mythbusters! If you drop it on the ground several times then open it quickly it will definitely go flat fast. – Moab Sep 25 '11 at 5:44

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