why does popcorn seem to pop at a somewhat consistent rate regardless of the amount, instead of all of them popping closer to at the same time?

Question

why does popcorn seem to pop at a somewhat consistent rate regardless of the amount, instead of all of them popping closer to at the same time?

In: Physics

Answer 1

I’ll add something because it hasn’t been mentioned yet. Your microwave produces a frequency that interacts best with water. Most other molecules it either goes through or bounces off. So the first layer of water will keep absorbing the energy. This is why you have some parts of food molten hot, and others still frozen.

This isn’t a huge issue for popcorn, because of the kernals and how the bags are designed. But it does add some variance to when some kernals are heated.