[Lex Computer & Tech Group/LCTG] Mystery I'm trying to figure out

[Robert Primak]

 Steve, 5 grams is a very small amount on a scale. Bouyancy can make low-density items weigh lighter than they really are on a scale. But they do not usually wiegh heavier. And they do not lose weight as they are dissolved in liquids with which they have not chemically reacted. 
But if the weight decrease is real, there may be a chemical reaction between the almond milk and the fiber in the supplement. In other words, the almond milk may contain something which digests the fiber. I doubt this however. 
Google and DuckDuckGo do not know anything about adding fiber to almond milk. Apparently this is not a thing to them. 
Soluble fiber is a polysaccharide, which is related to sugars. There is a change in sugars when they are mixed with almond milk. (Or even plain water.) This is both physical and chemical.
Air does not weigh enough to be the culprit here. I don't see any evidence in what little I could find on the subject to indicate that the fiber is digested by the almond milk, if that's what you're worried about. 
A volume change would be expected, perhaps beyond the combined original volumes, due to changes in the physical arrangements of the water and fiber molecules. But a dramatic weight change would not be expected. 
I'll have to defer to more experienced chemists for any ideas about whether a particular type of fiber would be digested by almond milk. My hunch is that this is not what's going on here. 
-- Bob Primak
    On Sunday, February 12, 2023 at 06:41:25 PM EST, Steve Isenberg <smisenberg at gmail.com> wrote:  
 
 Gentlepeople, especially any chemistry or physics experts:
When I add 5 grams powdered fiber to almond milk, the added weight starts dropping immediately from 5 grams.

Materials are powdered fiber supplement (Optifiber from Costco, wheat dextrin) and unsweetened almond milk (also from Costco).
Procedure.  I take a small shot glass container and put it on the scale, and zero the scale.  Add 5 grams of powdered fiber to the glass container, and it stays at 5g.  I set the glass container aside.
Then I take a container of about 8 oz of cold almond milk and put it on the scale, zero the scale, and add the 5g powder into the almond milk.  I don't stir.
At first the scale reads 5g, then immediately starts to drop in weight, to 4.5, 4.0, 3.8, etc within the first minute.
Does anyone know what's happening, why is the weight dropping?

This is not a joke, I am asking a serious question.  I can do this live over zoom sometime, and in person. Any thoughts?-steve

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