Popping Popcorn Pop-isciously!-Heat Transfer!

      Well, the "heat transfer" up there makes it seem a little boring but popping popcorn certainly isn't!  There are a few different ways to pop popcorn, two of them being radiation and convection.  In class, we were able to observe and perform both types.  
      At first, we tried radiation.  In order to do this, we just put kernels in a microwave and pushed the "popcorn" button.  After a couple of seconds, we heard, "POP, POP, POP, POP, POP, POP!"  The popcorn was popping!  We could tell that this was a form of radiation. Radiation is the transfer of heat energy through empty space.  The kernels had been surrounded by empty space and the waves coming  from the microwave transfered heat and caused them to heat up from within.  Trapped moisture from inside the kernels quickly heat up to more than 100 degrees Celsius, boiling point, and turn into steam.  This steam causes the kernel to burst open to show the delicious fluff!  This is radiation!

      Next stop, convection!  To demonstrate convection, we put kernels into a popcorn popper.  Convection is the transfer of heat energy in a fluid (gas or liquid).  First, the popcorn popper shifted the popcorn all around it.  Next, it transfered heat so that the liquid inside of the kernels heated up, turned into a gas, steam, and burst into popcorn!  This is how we demonstrated convection.
      This lab taught us all about how popcorn is made and, more importantly, the differences and likenesses between radiation and convection.  Personally, this has been an extremely insightful lab that has allowed me to learn a lot about types of heat transfer.  These types of labs are always the best!


I used this website for more information.  My first picture came from here.  The second can be found here.


~Starflower794!