Where does popcorn’s “pop” come from?
Popcorn: critical temperature, jump and sound
High-speed cameras revealed how popcorn jumps, and where the “pop” sound really comes from.
Two French physicists heated corn kernels and filmed them popping at thousands of frames per second, while recording the sound.
Kernels pop at around 180 °C, push off the pan with a little starchy “leg” like a gymnast, and the pop comes from steam rushing out, not the shell cracking. Movie night just got very educational.
Every popcorn kernel is a tiny acrobat with a sound effect.