# The Popcorn Supernova **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 30, 2003, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-popcorn-supernova/191864 "2003-07-30T07:08:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-popcorn-supernova/191864/21 "2003-07-30T18:35:59Z")
Quoth **Firx** : > [@](#): > > I mean, if you had a container that absorbed all the radiation incident on it, and reradiated none, You’re under arrest by the Thermodynamics Police. If it absorbs radiation, it’ll re-radiate it, guaranteed. As a matter of fact, the same number determines the efficiency with which an object absorbs and radiates. Your best bet, for maximizing temperature, is going to be something which absorbs as much as possible of the incident radiation, as it’ll reach equilibrium temperature quickest. It’s going to be the outer surface that matters for this, so if, say, the popcorn is contained in a derelict spaceship made of nice shiney metal, then it’s going to take a good while to reach temperature. I have a hunch that it might also be relevant to the OP to warn that, for something starting off on or near the Earth, the Sun is the hardest spot to reach in the Universe. ---
**Author:** ![Brad\_Amundsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dbc845/32.png) [@Brad\_Amundsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brad_Amundsen)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-popcorn-supernova/191864/22 "2003-07-30T21:29:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Whack-a-Mole \* > \*\*The temperatures cited for planets in this thread have been for Mercury and the Moon…neither of which has an atmosphere so you are measuring the radiant energy of the sun at that point. Venus, which is further from the sun than Mercury, is hotter than Mercury but that is due to its having an atmosphere. \*\* But Still the mass of venus collects alot more radiant energy than a bag of popcorn!Therefore the tempurature is higher! ---
**Author:** ![Firx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Firx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Firx)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-popcorn-supernova/191864/23 "2003-07-30T21:32:39Z")
I know it couldn’t happen, but I wanted to make the point uncomplicated. I also left out the matter of the internal conduction and convection (and ratiadive) heat transfers to the kernels inside the container. All for the sake of simplicity! Anyway, the thermo police could never catch me. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-popcorn-supernova/191864/24 "2003-07-30T23:21:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by eburacum45 \* > \*\* but you wouldn’t get charred popcorn in a vacuum. \*\* Why do you say that? ---
**Author:** ![Upham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Upham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Upham)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-popcorn-supernova/191864/25 "2003-07-31T00:35:05Z")
As I stated in the OP we’re talking microwave popcorn here, so it’s in one of those paper baggies (with the plastic cover taken off, of course. I don’t want sticky plastic goo all over my solar system) Now, for the sake of argument, let’s assume that the bag of popcorn is floating in some sort of transparent sphere made of something not yet invented which will allow the popcorn to maintain its humidity and nullify the effects of being in a vacuum. Somehow. I don’t really care how. Also, let us say that the bag is rotating at a constant speed, that it’s launch point was somewhere imaginary, that gravity has no effect on it, and that it is steadily and inexorably making its way toward the Sun. Basically I’m asking you to forget about reality for a few minutes and consider a regular ol’ bag of microwave popcorn heading towards our regular ol’ yellow giant and taking in all the good ol’ radiation it needs to get popping. How close would it have to be for this to happen? ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-popcorn-supernova/191864/26 "2003-07-31T01:59:22Z")
## \*\*eburacum45 \*\* but you wouldn’t get charred popcorn in a vacuum. ## **Mangetout** Why do you say that? No oxygen= no fire= no oxidation; no charring. There will be degradation of the popcorn’s protiens and carbohydrates, sublimation, melting and boiling, perhaps chemical reactions like oxidationwill occur, but volatiles will disappear quite quickly. Anyway, the popcorn is in a paper bag now, so none of this will happen. I’ve got a funny feeling that the paperbag will catch fire before the popcorn pops, but that is just because it is a good insulator… hmm- paper is supposed to burn at farenheit 451, more or less 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bbeaty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c0e974/32.png) [@bbeaty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbeaty)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-popcorn-supernova/191864/27 "2003-07-31T06:43:09Z")
Doesn’t the material inside of popcorn kernels MELT? I thought that the stuff liquifies, and then when the shell splits, the steam puffs it up into a foam, also hardening almost instantly as the temperature drops. No? Hmmm. One way to guarantee lots of “squibs” would be to scratch the shells so that they rupture prematurely at low pressure/temperature (where the material isn’t yet runny enough to foam up large.) How about this. Grind unpopped kernels into a powder. Sift out the shells if you really must. Pack the powder solidly into a huge pressure-vessel. Heat to 200C or whatever. Open the hatch suddenly. One gigantic “popcorn cheeto” of instantly hardening corn-foam appears, six feet wide and hundreds of feet long. Spray with yellow oil to serve to movie-goers. Or use as a terror weapon. Surrender, or we will shoot rice out of cannons! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-popcorn-supernova/191864.md?page=1)