After elaborate buoyancy tests using a miniature crane made of balsawood,
Laurence Jay of San Francisco (WO 98/47387) is ready to make sweets that go up
and down like demented fish when dropped into a fizzy drink. The 鈥渇ish鈥
initially sinks to the bottom of the glass because it is more dense than the
drink. The falling sweet accumulates bubbles of CO2 on its surface,
which grow and unite to form bigger bubbles. The sweet now becomes buoyant and
rises to the surface, where the bubbles on the top escape into the air. This
makes the fish flip over onto its back and the remaining bubbles escape. The
sweet then plummets to the bottom, only to start all over again.
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