Did anyone see the mythbusters one about the ice bullet

[DrPizza]

I was happy to see them do some myths revisited... I knew they were wrong about the running in the rain experiment. If you run, vs. walk, your body sweeps out an equal volume of space, thus, in a vertical rainfall, it makes no difference, EXCEPT, if you walk, your shoulders and head are going to get hit with more rain. Again, as someone said, it was common sense. If someone walked really really really slowly, i.e. it took them 45 minutes to go the same distance as someone who ran and made it in 1 minute, they're obviously going to end up soaked.

Anyway, their insistance that the only way an ice bullet could be fired is via gunpowder was an error. As someone pointed out above, something like a modified paintball gun could easily cause an ice bullet to achieve a lethal velocity. In fact, if you wanted to scale it up, using PVC, and a quick release valve, you could easily make a lethal ice projectile the size of a potato and fire it from, you guessed it, a potato gun (use compressed air though; it's far safer than igniting hair spray or other combustibles, plus you can control pressure and achieve higher pressures safely)

Hmmm... now that I think about it, I'll bet iceballs would work better than potatoes. Plus, probably lethal within 25 yards or so.

 

[CrackRabbit]

Ice Cannon, I like the way you think DrPizza.

 

[DrPizza]

It would be so nice if they could find a decent high school physics teacher out there who could join their cast of morons they have assisting them. Then, in addition to the awesome design and building skills they have, they could have someone with some real knowledge help them out. (They missed Bernouli's principle in another episode - an obvious blunder)

 

[eflat]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
They busted it, but I question their testing methods. The ice bullet was too fragile and did not cause any damage. I think that they didn't adequately explore adding certain chemicals to the bullet to make it more durable. I'm not saying that will definitely make a difference, but it's pretty easy to make ice far stronger and still allow it to melt.

Well now those chemicals would leave a, ahem, chemical trail. Defeating the whole point of an ice bullet

 

[eflat]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
It would be so nice if they could find a decent high school physics teacher out there who could join their cast of morons they have assisting them. Then, in addition to the awesome design and building skills they have, they could have someone with some real knowledge help them out. (They missed Bernouli's principle in another episode - an obvious blunder)

Let us not forget this is entertainment ladies and gentlemen.

 

[swtethan]

2 words.... ice spear

 

[sharkeeper]

Haha ever watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation?

The icicle that broke the neighbors stereo? God I hate those Bang and Olufsen systems!

Anyhow, one can very easily use ice to damage property without evidence. A trebuchet and 50 pound ice blocks come to mind. Imagine what that would do to a car.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: CitizenDoug

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
They busted it, but I question their testing methods. The ice bullet was too fragile and did not cause any damage. I think that they didn't adequately explore adding certain chemicals to the bullet to make it more durable. I'm not saying that will definitely make a difference, but it's pretty easy to make ice far stronger and still allow it to melt.

Well now those chemicals would leave a, ahem, chemical trail. Defeating the whole point of an ice bullet

Even if they're chemicals that would be found naturally in the body? The body is made of thousands of chemicals. What would be the effects of a little carbon, iron and bone marrow mixed into water. It would certainly make the bullet harder to freeze and probably structurally stronger.

The myth of the ice bullet has a problem. A bullet of any substance leaves a unique and easily identified wound channel. No other wound is like a bullet wound, even if the bullet dissolves there's not a coroner on earth that would fail to identify the cause even if no bullet is found. So isn't the myth based on something else, like making sure there's no bullet that can be traced ballistically to a certain gun which can then be traced to a certain person? Whether the bullet was pure ice or was chemically enhanced the result would be the same. A bullet wound channel and no bullet left inside. A chemical residue left in the body would not make the assassin any more findable than a pure ice bullet would.

 

[eflat]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: CitizenDoug

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
They busted it, but I question their testing methods. The ice bullet was too fragile and did not cause any damage. I think that they didn't adequately explore adding certain chemicals to the bullet to make it more durable. I'm not saying that will definitely make a difference, but it's pretty easy to make ice far stronger and still allow it to melt.

Well now those chemicals would leave a, ahem, chemical trail. Defeating the whole point of an ice bullet

Even if they're chemicals that would be found naturally in the body? The body is made of thousands of chemicals. What would be the effects of a little carbon, iron and bone marrow mixed into water. It would certainly make the bullet harder to freeze and probably structurally stronger.

The myth of the ice bullet has a problem. A bullet of any substance leaves a unique and easily identified wound channel. No other wound is like a bullet wound, even if the bullet dissolves there's not a coroner on earth that would fail to identify the cause even if no bullet is found. So isn't the myth based on something else, like making sure there's no bullet that can be traced ballistically to a certain gun which can then be traced to a certain person? Whether the bullet was pure ice or was chemically enhanced the result would be the same. A bullet wound channel and no bullet left inside. A chemical residue left in the body would not make the assassin any more findable than a pure ice bullet would.

Well even if you could make an ice bullet not melt and not leave a chemical residue unless you are using some sort of air gun (now we are thinking) there would still be gunpowder residue would there not?

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: CitizenDoug

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: CitizenDoug

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
They busted it, but I question their testing methods. The ice bullet was too fragile and did not cause any damage. I think that they didn't adequately explore adding certain chemicals to the bullet to make it more durable. I'm not saying that will definitely make a difference, but it's pretty easy to make ice far stronger and still allow it to melt.

Well now those chemicals would leave a, ahem, chemical trail. Defeating the whole point of an ice bullet

Even if they're chemicals that would be found naturally in the body? The body is made of thousands of chemicals. What would be the effects of a little carbon, iron and bone marrow mixed into water. It would certainly make the bullet harder to freeze and probably structurally stronger.

The myth of the ice bullet has a problem. A bullet of any substance leaves a unique and easily identified wound channel. No other wound is like a bullet wound, even if the bullet dissolves there's not a coroner on earth that would fail to identify the cause even if no bullet is found. So isn't the myth based on something else, like making sure there's no bullet that can be traced ballistically to a certain gun which can then be traced to a certain person? Whether the bullet was pure ice or was chemically enhanced the result would be the same. A bullet wound channel and no bullet left inside. A chemical residue left in the body would not make the assassin any more findable than a pure ice bullet would.

Well even if you could make an ice bullet not melt and not leave a chemical residue unless you are using some sort of air gun (now we are thinking) there would still be gunpowder residue would there not?

Not necessarily. The way they were doing it on the show the answer would be yes. The ice bullet was in direct contact with the powder. That caused the bullet to melt prematurely and also might have left gunpowder residue. But using a modern standard bullet/cartridge configuration isn't the only way to launch a bullet. Think about a muzzleloader. The bullet is not connected to a cartridge. The powder ignites and the bullet fires anyway. Use a smaller bullet and enclose it in a sabot. The bullet would not touch the powder. It would be protected from the heat and therefore melt less, it wouldn't pick up powder residue and the sabot would not enter the body.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: CitizenDoug

Originally posted by: DrPizza
It would be so nice if they could find a decent high school physics teacher out there who could join their cast of morons they have assisting them. Then, in addition to the awesome design and building skills they have, they could have someone with some real knowledge help them out. (They missed Bernouli's principle in another episode - an obvious blunder)

Let us not forget this is entertainment ladies and gentlemen.

Let us also not forget that the average person watching television is an idiot (of course, excluding almost everyone here.) Thus, I have to listen to imbeciles run around and tell me "no, you're wrong. You get wetter by running in the rain. Mythbusters proved it." Bill Nye the Science Guy was entertaining... Get him to guest star on the show. Mad skills making weird contraptions, the mythbusters have. Goofy smart guy, they don't have.

At the very least, run the stuff by a physics department at a local college so they can verify the legitimacy of their experimental outcomes.

 

[Specop 007]

I havent seen it, but from what it sounds like the bullet actually did make it to the target?
I'm surpised the bullet held up to the 300,000 or so RPM bullets spin at. I would think an ice bullet isnt all that well balanced and would have spun itself apart.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

Originally posted by: CitizenDoug

Originally posted by: DrPizza
It would be so nice if they could find a decent high school physics teacher out there who could join their cast of morons they have assisting them. Then, in addition to the awesome design and building skills they have, they could have someone with some real knowledge help them out. (They missed Bernouli's principle in another episode - an obvious blunder)

Let us not forget this is entertainment ladies and gentlemen.

Let us also not forget that the average person watching television is an idiot (of course, excluding almost everyone here.) Thus, I have to listen to imbeciles run around and tell me "no, you're wrong. You get wetter by running in the rain. Mythbusters proved it." Bill Nye the Science Guy was entertaining... Get him to guest star on the show. Mad skills making weird contraptions, the mythbusters have. Goofy smart guy, they don't have.

At the very least, run the stuff by a physics department at a local college so they can verify the legitimacy of their experimental outcomes.

i think the producer of the show has a science background.

think jamies wife is a science teacher?

anyways its in this months skeptic magazine apparently they have 1 million australian viewers!

 

[mercanucaribe]

Originally posted by: bootymac

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
They busted it, but I question their testing methods. The ice bullet was too fragile and did not cause any damage. I think that they didn't adequately explore adding certain chemicals to the bullet to make it more durable. I'm not saying that will definitely make a difference, but it's pretty easy to make ice far stronger and still allow it to melt.

Yeah, some of the stuff they do is really questionable. I would take their experiments with a grain of salt. It's hella fun to watch tho

How about a SALT bullet? Sugar? Chocolate?

 

[0roo0roo]

heh, how about a wood bullet

 

[Conky]

How about a spear of ice?

 

[CKent]

Originally posted by: CitizenDoug

Originally posted by: DrPizza
It would be so nice if they could find a decent high school physics teacher out there who could join their cast of morons they have assisting them. Then, in addition to the awesome design and building skills they have, they could have someone with some real knowledge help them out. (They missed Bernouli's principle in another episode - an obvious blunder)

Let us not forget this is entertainment ladies and gentlemen.

Which unfortunately is most often, for most people, completely devoid of educational value, and often wrong.

If nothing else, support it for the candid backstage pics of Kari we'd make him post

 

[jiwq]

how about a chicken cannon? that thing would definitely kill

 

[Acanthus]

*runs off to make potato ice cannon*

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Originally posted by: Crazyfool
How about a spear of ice?

Did you watch Mortal Kombat?

 

[Powermoloch]

busted !

 

[ethomas777]

On Bones someone used a Blood Bullet but it wasn't fired with a normal gun. The bad guy used a compressed air gun. Have they tried that ???

 

[T9D]

Can't you just shoot with a normal bullet and then rehone the gun barrel after to get rid of the unique identifying marks?

 

[Jodell88]

 

[KeithP]

myth

So its like the accuracy of the show then. Interesting.

-Keith