Was watching Myth Busters and wondered...

[QueBert]

I like this show, I use to watch it to learn, well I still do. But I use to really believe their findings as being pretty accurate because they'd do all kind of tests to prove/disprove a theory.

But I was watching it the other night (last week maybe) and they disproved that a can won't explode in a car under extreme temps. Like a hairspray can or soda can. after having to put the objects in a super hot oven to cause them to explode. They concluded it was a myth and wouldn't happen in real life. Yet I'm still finding dried sticky splatters from when a Coke can exploded in my car when it wasn't even super hot (just really sunny)

Obviously they can't be right 100% of the time I never thought that, but it got me thinking about how often are they really ncorrect?

 

[phoenix79]

A LOT

 

[FoBoT]

they need to add someone with a science background to the team, i agree

they have been emphasizing explosions a little too much lately
everybody likes a nice explosion, but when it has nothing to do with the myth, it is too gratuitous even for me

 

[Demon-Xanth]

I know on the CD one they concluded that a CD won't explode in a drive, yet I've pulled shards of a shattered CD out of a drive.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

http://fc03.deviantart.com/files/Myth1d_2.swf

...if that doesn't work, use this link:
http://hail-nekoyasha.deviantart.com/art/MythBusters-Porcum-Iacio-42761395

 

[JulesMaximus]

Who gives a fuck? It's just entertainment...

 

[T9D]

Sometimes I get so frustrated with them because they can leave out very obvious parts of tests. Or they will do a myth and I'll be like "yeah that is totally possible and would happen under the right conditions". Then somehow they finish it off saying it's totally a myth..... I'm like wth your own test even though being lame should have brought you to at least say it's plausible.

 

[Anubis]

i had a can of Compressed air explode in my car, the stuff you get at comp USA, Dust-Off or whatever, it was sitting on the back shelf by the rear window, it went and it went bad, and nearly went through the roof,it actually made a visible dent that was big enough to crack the paint, riped the spine off a hardcover book that was also back there and tore the crap outta the padding on the inside of the roof

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
I know on the CD one they concluded that a CD won't explode in a drive, yet I've pulled shards of a shattered CD out of a drive.

i think this one is how they did their test, they just ramped up a CD really really fast, what makes them shatter the most is when the head of the CD drive is allready spinning at near full speed BEFORE it makes contact with the CD, that jolt with either rip the cd apart or itll just launch the CD into the insides of the drive which then causes more shattering

ive had it happen also

 

[darkxshade]

I can't blame them, a lot of what they do cannot really be accurately controlled to produce the right results. They do the best they can, I'm not gonna hold it against them. It's not so much the conclusion that's important to me, it's the actual likelyhood that something will happen(per the experiment). Plus I only really watch for the entertainment, it's especially satisfying when Adam hurts himself.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
they need to add someone with a science background to the team, i agree

I thought that was Grant?

they have been emphasizing explosions a little too much lately
everybody likes a nice explosion, but when it has nothing to do with the myth, it is too gratuitous even for me

Yeah, the new episode last night with the dynamite surfing bit was fun yet obviously busted from the very beginning. It was pretty clear that the originating 'viral video' was using CGI making the entire exercise futile.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Originally posted by: darkxshade
I can't blame them, a lot of what they do cannot really be accurately controlled to produce the right results. They do the best they can, I'm not gonna hold it against them. It's not so much the conclusion that's important to me, it's the actual likelyhood that something will happen(per the experiment). Plus I only really watch for the entertainment, it's especially satisfying when Adam hurts himself.

That's the entire reason Tory's on the show. To double the chances.

 

[darkxshade]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth

Originally posted by: darkxshade
I can't blame them, a lot of what they do cannot really be accurately controlled to produce the right results. They do the best they can, I'm not gonna hold it against them. It's not so much the conclusion that's important to me, it's the actual likelyhood that something will happen(per the experiment). Plus I only really watch for the entertainment, it's especially satisfying when Adam hurts himself.

That's the entire reason Tory's on the show. To double the chances.

touche

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: FoBoT
they need to add someone with a science background to the team, i agree

I thought that was Grant?

they have been emphasizing explosions a little too much lately
everybody likes a nice explosion, but when it has nothing to do with the myth, it is too gratuitous even for me

Yeah, the new episode last night with the dynamite surfing bit was fun yet obviously busted from the very beginning. It was pretty clear that the originating 'viral video' was using CGI making the entire exercise futile.

yes, the dynamite surfing is what i was thinking of. the "myth video" was so obviously fake that it can't be called a "myth"

and as for Grant, i sort of thought that, but then i thought he was the "comptuer geek", so i am not sure

 

[darkxshade]

Originally posted by: FoBoT

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: FoBoT
they need to add someone with a science background to the team, i agree

I thought that was Grant?

they have been emphasizing explosions a little too much lately
everybody likes a nice explosion, but when it has nothing to do with the myth, it is too gratuitous even for me

Yeah, the new episode last night with the dynamite surfing bit was fun yet obviously busted from the very beginning. It was pretty clear that the originating 'viral video' was using CGI making the entire exercise futile.

yes, the dynamite surfing is what i was thinking of. the "myth video" was so obviously fake that it can't be called a "myth"

and as for Grant, i sort of thought that, but then i thought he was the "comptuer geek", so i am not sure

Grant is probably the only one in the team who's actually has a degree in engineering(or whatever it is) so his technical knowledge of "building" stuff is greater but I wouldn't go so far as to say he has the scientific knowledge of experimenting.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
and as for Grant, i sort of thought that, but then i thought he was the "comptuer geek", so i am not sure

Wiki

Imahara is a graduate of the University of Southern California, with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering. For a time, he seriously considered switching majors with the intention of becoming a screenwriter, although he decided to stay on the engineering track after assisting USC School of Cinematic Arts professor and creator of the Lucasfilm THX sound system, Tomlinson Holman. Imahara was hired after graduation as a Licensing Engineer for Lucasfilm's Home THX division, then made the jump to ILM where he was involved with films such as: The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Galaxy Quest, AI: Artificial Intelligence, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions, Van Helsing and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

He's always seemed like the only one between Tory, Kari, and himself who has any kind of grasp on science.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Tory is a model maker. When they had him make a finger to stick into the gun he carved out a really realistic looking steel finger from a rod. That one girl before Kari was more mechanically inclined but had the TV personality of a goat.

 

[purbeast0]

so did the plane take off?

 

[Ns1]

who cares. the parachuting using airplane safety equipment was awesome.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
I know on the CD one they concluded that a CD won't explode in a drive, yet I've pulled shards of a shattered CD out of a drive.

i think this one is how they did their test, they just ramped up a CD really really fast, what makes them shatter the most is when the head of the CD drive is allready spinning at near full speed BEFORE it makes contact with the CD, that jolt with either rip the cd apart or itll just launch the CD into the insides of the drive which then causes more shattering

ive had it happen also

The CD read head never contacts the disc though.

It's not just cheap CD-R's that shatter, either - and not only in super-high-speed drives. My Giants: Citizen Kabuto CD (Disc 1 or 2, don't remember which) blew apart in a Pioneer 16x/40x DVD-ROM drive. I don't mistreat my CDs, either, and I doubt it would have developed cracks by sitting atop a jewel case on my desk.

No pieces came out of the drive. There was some damage though - one plastic support got blasted away, and some of the casing was deformed. The drive still worked though. I did wind up buying a new drive not too long afterward.


Unfortunately, if Mythbusters had too much science content, too many people would either get bored, or start to feel stupid, and thus the all-important ratings would start to slip. They've got to keep it at about a 2nd grade level to appeal to people with an average level of education. Their "Warning: Science Content" segments are often embarrassingly simplistic.

At least they don't make me sick like reading a newspaper does.
"New electricity prices could be shocking!"
"CFL power usage may shock you!"
"Rain causes a flood of driving problems."
"Headline writer killed for making bad puns."

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
so did the plane take off?

Tune in next wednesday!

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
The CD read head never contacts the disc though.

It's not just cheap CD-R's that shatter, either - and not only in super-high-speed drives. My Giants: Citizen Kabuto CD (Disc 1 or 2, don't remember which) blew apart in a Pioneer 16x/40x DVD-ROM drive. I don't mistreat my CDs, either, and I doubt it would have developed cracks by sitting atop a jewel case on my desk.

No pieces came out of the drive. There was some damage though - one plastic support got blasted away, and some of the casing was deformed. The drive still worked though. I did wind up buying a new drive not too long afterward.

The CD should NEVER contact the head. If the spinning causes the disk to warp and contact the head (or anything else that is in close proximity to the disk, which is a lot of stuff), then shattering occurs.

 

[PottedMeat]

It's entertainment, but I wish they would do more different experiments for a single myth.

They have done some pretty reckless things - Jaime connecting those microwave oven transformers/magnetrons together to make a crazy oven. A few other things too.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: Jeff7

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
I know on the CD one they concluded that a CD won't explode in a drive, yet I've pulled shards of a shattered CD out of a drive.

i think this one is how they did their test, they just ramped up a CD really really fast, what makes them shatter the most is when the head of the CD drive is allready spinning at near full speed BEFORE it makes contact with the CD, that jolt with either rip the cd apart or itll just launch the CD into the insides of the drive which then causes more shattering

ive had it happen also

The CD read head never contacts the disc though.

It's not just cheap CD-R's that shatter, either - and not only in super-high-speed drives. My Giants: Citizen Kabuto CD (Disc 1 or 2, don't remember which) blew apart in a Pioneer 16x/40x DVD-ROM drive. I don't mistreat my CDs, either, and I doubt it would have developed cracks by sitting atop a jewel case on my desk.

No pieces came out of the drive. There was some damage though - one plastic support got blasted away, and some of the casing was deformed. The drive still worked though. I did wind up buying a new drive not too long afterward.

i didnt mean the read head i ment the head of the Drive motor that makes it spin, whatever its called

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Anubis
i didnt mean the read head i meant the head of the Drive motor that makes it spin, whatever its called

I think that "drive motor" works just fine.

My disc did manage to blow up at full speed. I loaded the game, the disc spun up, and as it reached full speed, there was a loud CRACK sort of sound from the drive.