The Physics of . . . Popcorn

“Let’s suck away!” physicist Paul Quinn announces, flipping the switch on his stove-top vacuum cooker. There’s a long, low gurgling noise as a gauge registers the pressure drop inside, and the sound of muted machine-gun fire rattles the pot. Almost immediately, Quinn’s lab at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania is permeated with 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, the aroma given off by popcorn as it cooks. Eight minutes later, he removes the lid to reveal a pot brimming with fresh Orville Redenbacher’s. Though it’s not apparent until the contents are poured into a graduated beaker, this popcorn has almost twice the volume of regular stove-top popcorn.