Viral Sach: Can mobile phones be used to cook popcorn?

In the clips, a small handful of corn is placed in the middle of a circle of mobile phones ringing in unison. Photo: YouTube

NEW DELHI: If some homemade videos going viral on social media are to be believed, it appears there is something new and innovative you can do with your mobile phones. Videos floating around the Internet show corn being popped by the heat given off by ringing mobile phones. In the clips, a small handful of corn is placed in the middle of a circle of mobile phones ringing in unison. After a few seconds, people are left gobsmacked as the kernels start leaping off the table. Though the video leaves people amused as to how come corns are popped by the heat given off by ringing mobile phones but it also frightens the layman. Clips force people into thinking that cell phone radiation is dangerous and hazardous to human health. Experts say cell phones do emit electromagnetic rays but there is no clear evidence of four or more cell phones in an array generating enough radiation to create popcorn. Popcorn kernels contain moisture inside them. When heated to a high enough temperature, this moisture turns to steam, causing them to explode and pop. What's shown in videos, seems impossible because had ringing of mobile phones generated so much heat then it would have also affected other things present on the table where the trick is performed. Which is not the case.