Sunday, June 12, 2011

Popping Popcorn

Who ever thought we could make popcorn in a boiling tube?
Mrs Lilley began by heating a bit of cooking oil in the boiling tube, over a bunsen burner. She lit the gas that was coming out of the bunsen burner which made a flame.
When the oil was hot she put put three popcorn kernels into the oil, and continued to heat them over the flame.
After a few seconds over the heat the popcorn began to pop.
Mrs Lilley explained that the kernel was a small hard shell, filled with the white fluffy texture. When it was heated it began to get excited and move around very fast.
The popping of the popcorn was the kernel turning from a solid, to a liquid to a gas and back to solid again, but the reactions happens so quickly that it turns itself inside out.
She demonstrated this for us, using cotton balls.
You can not eat the popcorn that has been popped in a boiling tube, but it was certainly fun to watch.
Explanation written by Jaxon, Alex, Mac and Lucy.

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