ELI5: How fizzy tablets works?

A fizzy tablet works by making tiny bubbles in water that help the tablet break apart and mix into the drink.

• Inside the tablet are two dry ingredients that stay calm when they are dry: an acid and a baking soda-like ingredient called a bicarbonate.
• When you drop the tablet into water, those two ingredients wake up and react together.
• That reaction makes a gas called carbon dioxide.
• The carbon dioxide comes out as lots of tiny bubbles, and that is the fizz you see.

• The water turns on the tablet.
• The bubbles push the tablet apart.
• The active stuff spreads through the water so you can drink it evenly.

For everyday life, you might see fizzy tablets in:

• Vitamin drinks


• Pain relief tablets


• Cleaning tablets for things like dentures