Watching Popcorn Pop

Wow!

At 1,300 frames per second, the kernel leaps from the heating element, full of starch and joy, and explodes into its fluffy final form before tumbling down in a cloud of steam. Before it pops, the pressure inside reaches around 135 psi and its internal temperature hits 356 degrees fahrenheit.

But that’s not slow enough. At 30,000 FPS—1,250 times slower than real time—you can watch the kernel’s insides expand peel the hard hull apart like a rose blooming.