By Janel Esplin
janel@newsroom.byu.edu
Scientists have discovered the reason candy wrappers are so noisy when opened in a quiet theater.
Eric Kramer and Alexander Lobkovsky of the National Institute of Standards and Technology studied the sound waves from unwrapping candy bars.
'The sound is caused by pops and clicks as creases in the packaging material are pulled apart,' Kramer said.
'No matter how slowly or deliberately the candy is opened, there is not much a moviegoer can do to decrease the loudness of the sounds,' he said.
Kramer, a physicist from Simon's Rock College of Bard, said opening the wrapper slowly merely spreads out the pops and clicks; it doesn't make them softer.
Mike Hafen, a junior from Las Vegas majoring in accounting, said he thinks noisy candy wrappers are a problem not only in the movie theater, but also in class.
'There are a lot of times when I am sitting in class craving the candy bar in my backpack, but I know that if I open it up, everyone will hear it and want some,' he said.
'Opening candy wrappers is like ripping off a Band-Aid -- you just have to do it fast and get it over with,' Hafen said.
The study done by Kramer and Lobkovsky discusses the 'crackling sound emitted by the crumpled sheet of Mylar as it is strained.'
The study was released on June 3 in Atlanta at a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America.
In the study, Kramer concluded that the only possible way the noise could be decreased is by using different wrapping materials.
But until new wrappers are developed, he said, candy wrappers are going to make noise no matter how they are opened.
He said his suggestion for moviegoers craving candy is to just open the wrapper as quickly as possible.