Why do chip bags get bigger at higher altitudes?

Why do chip bags get bigger at higher altitudes?

As the atmospheric pressure decreases with increase in altitude, when a sealed bag of chips is taken to higher altitude then the pressure of the gases inside the bag become greater than the outer atmospheric pressure and apply pressure on the side covering of the chips bag due to which the chips bag expand.

Why do bags of chips puff up?

Thought that your potato chip bag was puffed up with air? The cushion actually is nitrogen gas. Chip manufacturers fill bags with this preservative gas to help keep chips fresh. If it were filled with regular air, the chips would likely turn soggy and spoil.

Why do chips inflate on a plane?

It’s a swell old time It explains why items such as crisp packets and plastic bottles expand while you’re airborne. To boil that down (sorry…), what it means is that as the air pressure in a plane’s cabin decreases, then the volume of air inside a packet or plastic bottle will increase.

Will chip bags pop in airplane?

If the air pressure inside a food pouch is greater than the air pressure of the surrounding atmosphere, the pouch will bloat up; and at a certain pressure, it will burst. This phenomenon is noticeable in food pouches used to package potato chips.

What puffs up a potato chip bag?

Do chips explode on planes?

They don’t. While cargo is usually pressurized in a plane so this is less likely to happen, many a bag has popped open due to being in an unpressurized or not-fully-pressurized area. Also, because of this, most chips are shipped via ground, not air.

Can I bring a bag of chips in my carry on bag?

Yes, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will allow you to bring potato chips and other types of vegetable chips through airport security in your carry-on baggage.

Do bags of chips explode in airplanes?

Can I bring a bag of chips on a plane?

What air do they fill chip bags with?

nitrogen gas
The most common application for nitrogen when producing chips and similar snack foods, is during the packaging process. You may notice that when you open a new bag of potato chips, half of the bag is filled with “air”. That air is actually nitrogen gas.

Why does a bag of chips expand as it goes up?

A bag of chips, for example, expands as you go further up into the atmosphere, because the air pressure outside the bag lessens, but since the bag is sealed, the air pressure inside stays high and has a greater push from inside the bag, and the outside pressure has less force against the bag.

Why does the bag fill up with air at higher altitudes?

There’s air inside the bag, and that air was put into the bag closer to sea level. As you go up in altitude, the pressure in the bag stays the same, but the atmospheric pressure OUTSIDE the bag drops, so it looks like the bag is inflating.

Why are chips stored in a sealed bag before takeoff?

This is why gases under pressure are usually stored in metal containers because metal is rather strong and can resist more pressure. Before takeoff, the sealed bag of chips is still on the surface so the air pressure equals out. Air always wants to equalize. The higher pressure wants to expand out and equalize.

Why do bags inflate when they hit the ground?

When the air pressure outside the bags is lesser than that inside the bags, like at higher altitude, the air in the bags expands causing the bags to inflate in size.