Popping Math
Flexible seats, giant screen and audio, humans of all ages ready to travel into the world of cinema, away from the mundane miseries and race. Movie theatres or movie halls first received their foundation in 1905 in Pittsburg. Since then, a lot has changed when we talk about facilities. Nowadays, various shopping malls are home to big-ticket movie halls.
One thing that goes well with the word movie or entertainment is popcorn. You can never separate movies from popcorn, as they perfectly complement each other.
Everything is dynamic around us, just like the earth rotates and seasons change, the basic foundation on which the entire human race functions is bound to crack and be replaced with new soil.
The pandemic has overturned the entire system and how various industries used to function. Simultaneously, the entertainment industry has been bruised badly. For several months the movie halls were closed, and it has been only a few months where they have opened the gates but with restrictions...
Despite the turmoil, the thing that remained constant was the love for movies and popcorn. People continued to binge watch web series and even enjoy movies on several online platforms like Amazon Prime, Netflix etc.
However, previously, popcorn was not made as a complimentary snack for movie lovers. It's been said that popcorn was part of the first Thanksgiving feast, in Plymouth Colony in 1621. According to myth, Squanto himself taught the Pilgrims to raise and harvest corn, and pop the kernels for a delicious snack.
We are all aware of how popcorns are made. But, today let us discover some interesting math concepts that are hidden behind the popping of popcorns.
It is a tricky thing to determine the time because a perfect taste of popcorn comes from a perfectly estimated time. You need to keep in mind the number of kernels you are using, and set the time accordingly. One wrong step, and you might be served with over-burned popcorns. According to study, the fewer kernels there in the bag, the longer you might require to set a timer. And, if there is no water in the kernel, it might take longer hours to pop. An interesting way to calculate it with the technology available to us is to weigh each kernel before and after popping, subtracting the difference and finding the percentage of water.
If popcorn is heated too slowly, it won't pop because steam leaks out of the tender tip of the kernel. If popcorn is heated too quickly, it will pop, but the center of each kernel will be hard because the starch hasn't had time to gelatinize and form a foam.
Let us unearth yet another gripping mathematical application… Central Limit Theorem. It is a study of probability theorem, that states the distribution of sample approximates a normal distribution, also known as bell curve, as the sample size becomes larger, assuming that all samples are identical in size and regardless of the distribution shape.
Coming to its contribution in popcorn. CLT implies that the time for an individual kernel to pop should be normally distributed. However, there is a different debate to it… when we discuss whether popcorns are normally distributed or are a part of skewed distribution. We can definitely sit with it on a different article.
Making popcorns can be an act of 2 minutes, but more than 2 mathematical concepts are dissolved in it - applied math, arithmetic, geometry, measurement, statistics etc.