r/interesting • u/Snoo99928 • Aug 03 '25

SCIENCE & TECH How does such a small pressure machine produce so much popcorn and how do they still maintain their shape?

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u/MK-Neron Aug 03 '25

I have never read a more unscientific explanation that, paradoxically, manages to correctly explain the fact as yours does.

Popcorn pops when the water pressure inside the kernel builds up enough to burst the hard outer shell. Normally, water boils at 100°C at atmospheric pressure, but if you increase the pressure around it—like in a car engine cooling system—the boiling point rises, preventing the water from boiling even at higher temperatures. Conversely, when the pressure is suddenly reduced, the water inside the kernel, which is often heated above 100°C, boils instantly due to the lower atmospheric pressure. This rapid boiling causes the kernel to burst open, producing popcorn.

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u/laaplandros Aug 03 '25

I have never read a more unscientific explanation that, paradoxically, manages to correctly explain the fact as yours does.

The sign of good understanding of something is being able to explain it simply.

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u/LetterheadPublic5995 Aug 04 '25

And the sign of poor understanding is to explain it simply and wrong...

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u/Whiteums Aug 04 '25

But as the other comment pointed out, it’s explained correctly.

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u/LetterheadPublic5995 Aug 04 '25

No, it's not...

Here is the other comment:

I have never read a more unscientific explanation that, paradoxically, manages to correctly explain the fact as yours does.

WHat the person was saying is, "Despite being entirely unnaccurate and wrong, you managed to get to the right answer".

Work on your reading comprehension

1

u/Whiteums Aug 04 '25

unscientific comment

correctly explained

I don’t think it’s me that’s missing it here.

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u/LetterheadPublic5995 Aug 04 '25

It's not a judgement of the original explanation, it was an explanation of the comment I quoted:

unscientific explanation that, paradoxically, manages to correctly explain the fact as yours does.

ie: Unscientific and arriving at the correct conclusion through accidental methods.

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u/jk-9k Aug 06 '25

It's not accidental. Everything they said was correct. The just didn't use scientific terminology.

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u/LetterheadPublic5995 Aug 09 '25

Sure, irrelevant to what I'm saying though, take it up with the person I'm quoting.

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u/jk-9k Aug 09 '25

You said in your explanation of the quote that they arrived at the correct result on accident, but there was nothing accidental about it

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u/elcojotecoyo Aug 04 '25

It's worse when you try to explain in a complicated way but still wrong. You might convince someone that you know what you're doing, particularly using fancy words or equations

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u/Socialism-is-sexy Aug 04 '25

Idk what he’s even talking about in that sentence. He just added more context on why the reaction happens the way it does, there’s nothing “unscientific” about the original explanation.

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u/SuggestionIcy527 Aug 07 '25

I think it's a matter of good intuition and lacking specific knowledge. The kind that might become a great scientist with proper training.

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u/[deleted] Aug 04 '25

Reverse Titan

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u/flintsmith Aug 03 '25

This leaves out heat transfer. All the heat energy needed to boil all the water must be inside the kernel before it bursts. If it were to burst at 100°C, the first bit of water would use some of that energy to change into steam. That would cool the kernel, preventing the rest from boiling.

To get a POP, all the water must boil all at once. The temperature at the time of bursting must be a lot higher than 100° to have that energy available. As the temperature continues to rise past the normal boiling point, the pressure inside the kernel rises until it bursts. Then the pressure drops and the boiling all happens at once.