Why is it that if you have a can of diet soda and a can of regular soda, one will float and one won’t?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,

The simple answer is similar to the one for your ice cube and water question - the regular soda (including the can and trapped air inside the can) is more dense than water, but the diet soda (again, including can and and trapped air) is less dense than water.

But why? The ingredients, can, and amount of trapped air in diet and regular sodas are pretty much identical except for the sugar and artifical sweeteners. A given amount of artificial sweetner is much sweeter than the same amount of sugar (try some Equal or Sweet n Low at a restaurant sometime... on second thought, don't ). Because of this, less artificial sweetener is used than sugar, so the diet sodas weigh less, so their density is less (same volume), so they float.

Some regular sodas will also float... but if you look at the ingredient list, these are the sodas with the least amount of sugar.