German scientist logs Champagne cork speed
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.