14 DAY TRIAL // In early January, we talked about how corn becomes popcorn and we explained that it all boils down to how the water and the starch inside each and every kernel behave when heated.
Long story short, heat causes the water to transition to Steam, which in turn makes the starch become a rather icky goo. Eventually, all this turmoil makes the kernel explode and the starch goo spills out.
Once outside the grain that used to serve as its home, the starch cools down and becomes the crunchy white mass we just love and adore to snack on while watching movies.
Now, researchers claim to have gained new insight into how corn explodes when heated and becomes popcorn. Simply put, they know where the popping sound and all the complex acrobatics that accompany this transformation come from.
As already mentioned, corn kernels pop open because of all the pressure that builds up inside them and pushes the starch out. This blast is so powerful that the grains go flying through the air.
More precisely, it appears that, when grains burst open, teeny tiny starch legs form at the site where the hull cracks. These legs push the kernel up into the air and send it on a joyride around the microwave oven, Live Science explains.
What's interesting is that, apparently, the sound that we hear when popcorn pops isn't made by the kernel breaking open and jumping high into the air. It comes from the release of water vapors from inside the grain.