A German scientist has managed to register the speed of a Champagne cork as it leaves the bottle.
Friedrich Balck of Clausethal Technical University in northwest Germany found that a vigorously shaken bottle of Champagne, with a pressure of 2.5 bars, expelled its cork at 40 kilometres per hour (km/h) – 24.8 miles per hour.
The pressure inside a Champagne bottle is around three times that of a car tyre.
According to Swiss newspaper Le Matin, Balck measured the speed of the cork using photoelectrical and accoustic equipment, as well as measuring its impact on a sheet of paper.
The German boffin also said that Champagne corks could theoretically reach 100km/h (62 miles per hour). This would require 3 bars of pressure, achieved if the bottle was not shaken but left in the sun prior to opening.
One bar is equivalent to around 1kg per square centimetre.
Written by Oliver Styles
