Cereal Chem 45:595 - 599.  |  VIEW ARTICLE
Quantitative Measurement of Light Transmission Through Corn Endosperm.

A. V. Paez, J. L. Helm, and M. S. Zuber. Copyright 1968 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Opaque and nonopaque corn kernels can be separated with the use of a frosted glass viewer similar in design to an X-ray viewer. For those genotypes where visual classification by the frosted glass method is difficult, measuring the transmission of light through individual kernels might be an aid in separating homozygous (O2O2O2) and (o2o2o2) kernels. Kernel thickness has an effect on the percent of light transmitted, thin kernels transmitting more light than thick kernels. Moisture content of kernels and effects of different days had no significant effect on percent of light transmitted. Light transmission distributions for O2O2O2 and o2o2o2 kernels were widely separated, and the ranges do not overlap. A mechanical- electronic device could be constructed to separate corn kernels automatically into opaque and nonopague classes according to the percent of light transmitted.