At What Temperature Do Soda Cans Explode?
Soda cans can explode when heated to a temperature of at least 300 degrees Fahrenheit. There are some discrepancies regarding soda cans exploding due to heat, especially when inside a hot car. Several notable studies have been performed to either disprove or prove that soda cans can, in fact, explode at certain temperatures.
The most notable source for why cans can explode when heated is Gay-Lussac's Law of thermodynamics. This law states that when pressure increases, temperature increases, and as the temperature continues to increase, the pressure continues to increase. With a fixed-volume object, such as a pressurized soda can, this can cause the can to explode or burst open.
However, many argue that a hot car does not reach the required temperature to cause this to happen. Events in which soda cans have, in fact, exploded inside a hot car could have happened due to previous agitation, such as shaking the can or taking it directly from a cold location, such as the refrigerator.