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Popping Popcorn

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Popcorn is one of the four main types of corn, the others being sweet, dent, and flint(indian) corn. Of these types only popcorn pops. This is because popcorn has a hull with the proper thickness to make it burst open. Inside a kernal of corn their is a small amount of moisture surrounded by soft starch. As the kernal is heated the moisture expands increasing pressure and eventually causing the hull to burst. This occurs when the temperture of the kernal reaches 347°F which causes the pressure against the hull to reach 135 pounds per square inch. At this point the hull bursts and the starch rapidly "pops" out and the moisture escapes in the form of steam.

The connection between temperture, volume and, pressure is given by the equation PV = nRT which states that as temperture rises for a given volume pressure will increase.

Here is a short video showing what popcorn looks like as it pops.

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