A skienzy question...

Okay. I get that when I add a teaspoon of the base sodium bicarbonate to a mixture of pomegranite juice (which has the ascorbic acid), water and a little bit of sugar, the molecules start trading atoms like partners in a square dance coreographed by Salvidore Dali. And what we end up with is salt, carbon dioxide bubbles and water. I can even understand why adding a dash or two of lemon juice will make the potion sweeter, because lemon juice is very high in sugar, actually (that's why its so sticky on your fingers), and that sodium bicarbonate is still in there, knocking out the acid that makes us pucker...

But why does the pomegranite juice turn a really dark blue-purple? I knew from high school physics class that bases turned pink litmus paper blue, but I always thought that was because of the specific chemical on that paper. Is redness, itself, an attribute of acids -- something to do with the way light bounces off all those hydrogen atoms?

Oh, and here's my guestimate of the recipe for this potion (I just kinda eyeballed everything)

1/2 cup pomegranite juice
1 1/4 cups water
1 (scant) TBS sugar

[stir until sugar is disolved]

~1 tspn Baking Soda.
2 (?) TBS lemon juice [stir again]

Pour into a bottle, skrew cap tightly, and refrigerate.

I was really impressed with how good this tasted... not as fizzy as a freshly opened bottle of Pepsi, mind, but enough to feel something on your tongue. And with the acid cut back a little, the lemon/pom combination tasted even fruitier... or something. ... even if it looked a wierd, dangerous, color...