Posted by Kari in category Offbeat, June 10 2008 @ 18:24
I know, shocking isn’t it? But i figured i’d ruin this neat little youtube video for you. If you’re an internet addict like me, you’ve most likely seen it already, if not here it is:
Neat? Yes. Real? No.
I was suspicious as soon as i saw it, remembering one of my professors describing ages ago how bags of popcorn actually get popped in the microwave, and this just seemed extremely unlikely. I’m happy to report that i wasn’t the only one, and one of the blog columnist over at Wired.com contacted a physicist and officially debunked it. Long story short, microwaves do not actually heat up the corn kernels to make them pop, they heat up a filament inside the bag, like aluminum, that absorbs the microwaves and turns them into heat (which then in turn heats the kernels creating the popcorn). Aside from that, mobile phones just don’t produce that strong microwaves, just think how easy it is to boil water in a microwave and then imagine what would happen if you were holding a strong microwave source, probably wouldn’t be pleasant (in fact the US Army is now working on microwave weapons). Anyway, check out the article, they even hint to that it might be cellphone companies going for viral advertisement that made this video, although i don’t know why you’d want people to associate your phone with strong microwave radiation.
This video is certainly rigged, but there is one mistake in your post. While a commercial microwave popcorn bag certainly has a heating element, that is not what pops the popcorm, and it isn’t strictly necessary. You can just put loose popcorn in a bowl in the microwave and it will pop.
Why the heating element in the bag? My theory is that the popcorn won’t be “hot” otherwise. Microwaves primarily heat water, and once the kernel pops it has relatively little water. While the water in the unpopped kernel got hot enough to burst, the rapid expansion of that water vapor and evaporation of what little water was left will cool the kernel back down to nearly room temp.
I had imagined that, since as you said they mostly cause vibrations in water, kernels were too dry to be effected by microwaves alone. But your version does sound more plausible, thanks for the correction.
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June 11th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Talking out my arse here, but I think I saw someone try cooking an egg (or perhaps just heating water) years ago.
I think they did manage to get a temperature increase by placing it between two phones on full power - for a coupla hours.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:05 am
Stupid me. I need to get my skeptic filter checked:
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_cook_egg_cell_phones.htm
June 11th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
This video is certainly rigged, but there is one mistake in your post. While a commercial microwave popcorn bag certainly has a heating element, that is not what pops the popcorm, and it isn’t strictly necessary. You can just put loose popcorn in a bowl in the microwave and it will pop.
Why the heating element in the bag? My theory is that the popcorn won’t be “hot” otherwise. Microwaves primarily heat water, and once the kernel pops it has relatively little water. While the water in the unpopped kernel got hot enough to burst, the rapid expansion of that water vapor and evaporation of what little water was left will cool the kernel back down to nearly room temp.
— Mitch
June 11th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
I had imagined that, since as you said they mostly cause vibrations in water, kernels were too dry to be effected by microwaves alone. But your version does sound more plausible, thanks for the correction.