1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,000 On this unique episode of Mythbusters, it's the Young Scientist special. 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:07,000 That equals fire. 3 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:15,000 When four of the brightest brains in the country join the team to put a trio of tall environmental tales to the test. 4 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,000 I think it's outrageous. I'm preposterous. 5 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:23,000 Carrie and Grant get Young Scientist's Alyssa and Catherine in deep doo doo. 6 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:25,000 Who's having a good time here? 7 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:26,000 No comment. 8 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:30,000 Can this awesome foursome fire up a mower on methane? 9 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,000 I told you we needed an electric start on this thing. 10 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,000 That full start was cheaper. 11 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:36,000 Then Adam has a brain explosion. 12 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,000 Hit me in the head. That's it. 13 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:42,000 When he, Jamie and Brandon put a new spin on electric vehicles. 14 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:44,000 That was awesome. 15 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:47,000 Finally, can Scotty take the heat? 16 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:49,000 There's no way you can make it louder. 17 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:50,000 Shut up. 18 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:57,000 The Sheep, Tori and Wiz kid Eric blow the lid on global warming. 19 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,000 Who are the Mythbusters? 20 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:05,000 Adam Savage. 21 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:07,000 It's time to destroy it. 22 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:09,000 And Jamie Heidemann. 23 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:10,000 I like it. 24 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:14,000 Between them more than 30 years of special effects experience. 25 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:17,000 Huge dramatic music. 26 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,000 Joining them, Carrie Byron. 27 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:21,000 This should be interesting. 28 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:23,000 Grant Imahara. 29 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:24,000 Yes, yes. 30 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:25,000 And Tori Bellachy. 31 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:27,000 I want to make a withdrawal. 32 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:29,000 They don't just tell the Myths. 33 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:31,000 Isn't that awesome? 34 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,000 They put them to the test. 35 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:42,000 Young Scientist's Challenge. 36 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:46,000 Absolutely 40 of the brightest science wizards in the country. 37 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:51,000 All competing for the prize of being named Discovery's Young Scientist of the Year. 38 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:52,000 40 finalists, huh? 39 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:53,000 How did they pick a winner? 40 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,000 They run them through some fairly serious scientific hoops. 41 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:02,000 A set of challenges designed to find out who is the smartest science kid on the block. 42 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:04,000 Well, what did they get? 43 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:09,000 For starters, they get a fistful of cash man, 20,000 bucks. 44 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:10,000 That's not bad. 45 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:11,000 Not bad at all. 46 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:15,000 The winner of the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge. 47 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:17,000 Eric Gustafson. 48 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:21,000 So that kid, Eric, he's the winner. 49 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:25,000 Yep, and don't forget, he doesn't just get that dough, he actually gets our prize as well, 50 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:29,000 where he and three of his co-finalists get to come right here. 51 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:30,000 And work with us. 52 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:31,000 Yep. 53 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,000 Hello, Young Scientist! 54 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:36,000 Congratulations on all your hard work this week and becoming finalists. 55 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:43,000 The Science Channel Prize will be a trip for several young scientists to the set of Mythbusters in San Francisco. 56 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:47,000 You know, I think they should do something green with these kids. 57 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:49,000 There's a ton of environmental myths out there. 58 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:51,000 It's exactly what they're interested in. 59 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:53,000 That's what we should tackle. 60 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:55,000 Right. Well, let's see who we got to work with. 61 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:58,000 Will Alyssa Chan come up here, please? Alyssa? 62 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:00,000 How about Catherine Haber? 63 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,000 Where are you, Catherine? 64 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,000 Brandon Shee, where are you? 65 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:06,000 Eric Gustafson. 66 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:08,000 Where are you, Eric? 67 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:12,000 They look like a great bunch. 68 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:13,000 I can't wait to meet them. 69 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,000 You don't have to wait long. They'll be here soon. 70 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:16,000 Excellent. Let's get to work. 71 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:17,000 Okay. 72 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:25,000 Where are they? 73 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:26,000 I don't know. 74 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:28,000 What did that note say again? 75 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:31,000 Welcome to Mythbusters. 76 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,000 Meet us in the blueprint room, signed Jamie. 77 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,000 Dude, where are the kids? 78 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:39,000 I don't know. 79 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,000 Well, where did you tell them to meet us? 80 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:43,000 Oh. 81 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:46,000 Hey, guys. I'm so sorry we're late. 82 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,000 It's really all Jamie's fault. 83 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:50,000 You guys are looking a little green. 84 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,000 We have a bunch of green myths to test. 85 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:54,000 Can you guys help us test them? 86 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:55,000 Yeah. 87 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:56,000 Fantastic. 88 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:58,000 We've got one to do with the greenhouse effect. 89 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:00,000 We've got one to do with electricity. 90 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:03,000 And we have another one which I don't think I'm going to tell you about just yet. 91 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:04,000 So let's go. Come on. Let's roll. 92 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:05,000 Go, go, go, go, go. 93 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:07,000 Move, move, move, move. 94 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:14,000 It's green for go because our four young scientists are going to turn the heat up on three environmental myths. 95 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:21,000 First, Brandon meets Adam and Jamie to find out if electric cars are just good for nothing's slow pokes. 96 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:29,000 Then Eric, the young scientist of the year, joins Tori and Scotty to see if greenhouse gases really make our planet warmer. 97 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:31,000 And Alyssa and Catherine. 98 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:39,000 Well, they've got a myth with some real beef as they find out if cows really spell calamity for the climate. 99 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:40,000 No. 100 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:41,000 Okay. 101 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:42,000 What do we got? 102 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:47,000 We got a myth about the general perception of electric cars. 103 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:50,000 You mean that they're sluggish, you know, not very peppy? 104 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:51,000 Exactly. 105 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:53,000 We're going to tackle it and find out if it's true. 106 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:54,000 Could be fun. 107 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:56,000 Could be electric. 108 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:00,000 Ah, the humble electric car. 109 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:04,000 Small, slow, and really a bit silly, right? 110 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:06,000 Well, maybe not. 111 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:09,000 Adam and Jamie are going to bust a fuse to find out. 112 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,000 What do you think the plan is? 113 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:15,000 First, we need to get a basic electric car and see what it does. 114 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:20,000 Okay, I agree, but we are eventually going to go to the full-on state of the art, right? 115 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:21,000 Absolutely. 116 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:29,000 So, before state of the art comes run of the mill, a regular car that's been converted to run on battery power. 117 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:33,000 And right spark, Brandon Shee is in the hot seat. 118 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:37,000 We're going to blindfold you. 119 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:40,000 We've got two cars, one electric, one knob. 120 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:44,000 We're going to put you in the back seat of those cars, blindfolded, while we run them to some paces, 121 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:46,000 and you're going to give us your impressions. 122 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:51,000 The cars are identical, but one runs on gas and the other on batteries. 123 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:53,000 I don't want you to know which one is which while you're driving it. 124 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:57,000 So, Jamie, you're going to put on these headphones, and you're going to play some music while you're driving, 125 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:00,000 and Brandon, well, obviously, you're going to be blindfolded. 126 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:06,000 While Brandon can't see which car is which, Jamie can't hear which one is which. 127 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:09,000 The gas car leads first up. 128 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,000 In the middle with you. 129 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:15,000 Then the team pits stop and swap to the electric car. 130 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:20,000 So, Brandon, blindfolded in the back seat of both cars. 131 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:21,000 What was your impression? 132 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:22,000 Could you tell the difference? 133 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:23,000 It was actually hard to tell. 134 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:27,000 The second one seemed a lot smoother, but the time of speed, I don't know, 135 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:29,000 because they both felt like they were going fast. 136 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:35,000 Jamie's lead foot, oh, and experience, meant he had no trouble picking the electric car. 137 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:39,000 This car, the second car, it's real sluggish on the start-up. 138 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:42,000 Once you got going, it was pretty much the same, but for some reason, 139 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:45,000 their acceleration on the bottom end was really low. 140 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:49,000 And what that means is that there may be some mileage to this myth. 141 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,000 Maybe electric cars really are slugs. 142 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:55,000 For test two, the guys hit upon a bright idea. 143 00:06:55,000 --> 00:07:01,000 Maybe they can build their own electric vehicle and see if they can put a bit of pep in its step. 144 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:05,000 But Brandon's days as a passenger on the show are over. 145 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:11,000 We got rules, and you'll address me as Mr. Heineman and Adam as Mr. Savage, okay? 146 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:15,000 And you'll say, sir before and sir after whenever we talk to you. 147 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:16,000 Sir, yes, sir. 148 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:18,000 Then it's down to business. 149 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:22,000 They'll fit a large electric motor to a go-cart, add a bunch of batteries, 150 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,000 and then see if they can make the cart smoke. 151 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:27,000 That's what I'm talking about. 152 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:29,000 What is that? 153 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:32,000 Lithium iron phosphate, state-of-the-art. 154 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,000 We're going to bring this up to about 90 volts. 155 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:37,000 That is beautiful. 156 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:42,000 These are big daddy versions of the type of batteries that power laptops and hand tools. 157 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:45,000 They're light, but they deliver plenty of pizzazz. 158 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:52,000 So an electric motor powered by 26 of these bad boys should really get the sparks flying. 159 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:57,000 And Brandon's job is to help make sure it's the tires that smoke, not the wiring. 160 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:00,000 Do that full side, but you'll go down one. 161 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:05,000 If you do this, that equals fire, and lots and lots of push-ups. 162 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:06,000 Yes, sir. 163 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:09,000 So two, two, two, two, all right? 164 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:13,000 Then it's all power to the cart. 165 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:17,000 Brandon's got it wired right. 166 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,000 Wow. 167 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:22,000 I just got like a really warm feeling for my whole body. 168 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:23,000 It works. 169 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:24,000 Fantastic. 170 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:26,000 Let's get this thing out to the track. 171 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:31,000 And out on the track is Go Time in the Young Scientist's time trial. 172 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:36,000 A showdown between the Mythbusters green machine and a gas-powered rival. 173 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:38,000 Are you ready for this? You ready today? 174 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:39,000 I'm ready today. 175 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:40,000 Today is go-carts. 176 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:44,000 We're racing a gas go-cart and time-trialing it against an electric go-cart. 177 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:45,000 You feel good? 178 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:46,000 I feel good. 179 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:47,000 Okay, hit me in the head. 180 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:48,000 That's it. 181 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:49,000 All right. 182 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:52,000 Adam's first weapon of choice is the gas guzzler. 183 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:56,000 Gasoline power go-cart time trial. 184 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:59,000 Three, two, one, go. 185 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:05,000 Adam will get four laps, and the fastest one will count. 186 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,000 He's quick, but it's soon got him all in a spin. 187 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:18,000 Finally, he gets in his fastest lap. 188 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:22,000 How did I do? 189 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:23,000 58 seconds. 190 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:26,000 Ha! Let's break out the electric one. 191 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:30,000 Later, our bovine back ends threatening our planet. 192 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,000 The girl's ready to see how dirty science can get. 193 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:39,000 But next, Eric, Tori, and Scotty put melting ice caps under the Mythbusters microscope. 194 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:41,000 Let's start melting some Jamie. 195 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:46,000 It's the Mythbusters Young Scientist Special. 196 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:51,000 And next, it's a myth that's got a lot of people hot under the collar. 197 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:55,000 Okay, Tori, so you've heard of global warming, right? 198 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:56,000 Yeah. 199 00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:01,000 Well, some people think that carbon emissions are increasing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere 200 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:05,000 and raising the Earth's temperature, therefore causing the polar ice caps to melt, 201 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:06,000 and that's not good. 202 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:11,000 What you're saying is maybe we should test to see if CO2 does increase the temperature in our environment. 203 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:15,000 And while we're at it, I think we should test some other gases to see if they're also contributing. 204 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:24,000 Many people remain unconvinced that CO2 and other greenhouse gases are causing the Earth to warm up. 205 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:27,000 It's a hotbed of controversy. 206 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:31,000 A controversy that the young scientists want to resolve. 207 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:34,000 Right here, the Earth is warming up. 208 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:37,000 What to resolve right here, right now? 209 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:39,000 What's the plan? How are we going to test this? 210 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:42,000 Well, I think we should build a series of greenhouses. 211 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:48,000 We'll fill them with our different greenhouse gases, put some ice inside, and see if it has an effect on the ice melting. 212 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:49,000 That sounds great. 213 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:52,000 But you know what might be kind of cool is instead of just ice, we do ice sculptures. 214 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,000 But I don't think I'm going to be able to do four exact sculptures. 215 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:59,000 So what I'll do is I'll make a little maquette, we'll have it scanned into the computer, 216 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:02,000 and we'll use a CNC machine to make duplicate ice sculptures. 217 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:05,000 After doing that, I'll get to work on the greenhouses. 218 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:10,000 The plan, build identical greenhouse boxes, put identical ice sculptures in each, 219 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:15,000 add measured quantities of CO2 and methane, and see what happens. 220 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:19,000 To help them out, Discovery channels young scientists of the year. 221 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:24,000 At just 11, Eric Gustafson's the ultimate pocket rocket scientist. 222 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:27,000 Now, are you familiar with global warming? 223 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:31,000 The fossil fuels are made up of strings of hydrocarbons. 224 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:34,000 And when you burn them, they release many different greenhouse gases, 225 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:37,000 mainly carbon dioxide and methane. 226 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:41,000 Eric's got it down, but for the rest of us, well, here's a graphic. 227 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:46,000 Light waves from the sun travel through the atmosphere and are absorbed by the Earth's surface, 228 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:48,000 warming it up in the process. 229 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:52,000 That heat is then radiated from the surface back to the atmosphere, 230 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:59,000 where gases like CO2 absorb it and in turn, heat up, increasing the warmth of our environment. 231 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:01,000 At least, that's the theory. 232 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:05,000 But back to business, measuring up for the greenhouses. 233 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:08,000 Scotty, I think I have all the marks now. 234 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,000 And organized in the little piles. 235 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:14,000 I have number ones, number twos, number threes. 236 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:17,000 Perfect. I better keep you around. 237 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,000 Next, they frame it all up. 238 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:23,000 And turn the back into a heat trap. 239 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:28,000 The reason we're painting it black is because it'll absorb more heat and more light. 240 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:31,000 And re-emit it as a longer wavelength. 241 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:35,000 And that's the whole reason the greenhouse effect works. 242 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:36,000 Hey Eric. 243 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:37,000 Yeah? 244 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:40,000 Here's 20 bucks. I want you to go paint Adam's car now. 245 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:41,000 Really? 246 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:43,000 Be a good boy. 247 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:49,000 The greenhouses are covered in mylar, so the light gets in, but the gases don't get out. 248 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:52,000 Then they seal the scene with silicone. 249 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:55,000 Alright Eric, so our first box is complete. 250 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:56,000 Yep. 251 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:59,000 Thanks for your help. I'm going to knock out the next three. 252 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:01,000 Why don't you go help Tori with the ice sculpture? 253 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:02,000 Okay. 254 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:06,000 Well, that's a move that takes Eric from the greenhouse to the madhouse. 255 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:08,000 So Eric, you've seen the show, right? 256 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:09,000 Yep. 257 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,000 You know what's in this box, right? 258 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:12,000 No. 259 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:15,000 This is a block of C4. 260 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:20,000 You're going to sculpt Adam at a C4, and at the end of the episode, we're going to blow it up. 261 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:23,000 You've got to be careful because it's very volatile. 262 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:25,000 I mean, if you drop it, it could go off. 263 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:26,000 Okay. 264 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:27,000 So be careful. 265 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:28,000 Take it slow. 266 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,000 Shoo, shoo, shoo. 267 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:34,000 You don't want to peel off the wrapping too fast because it might set it off. 268 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:42,000 I'm not sure if he's crazy or not right now, but I'd much rather have him sculpt Adam at a C4, explosive. 269 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:44,000 And here's the mission. 270 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:50,000 Tori will mold a Jamie doll, Eric, and Adam doll, and the best looking one will be the model for their ice sculptures. 271 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:53,000 Is that working on Mythbusters fun? 272 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:55,000 Sometimes. 273 00:13:55,000 --> 00:14:01,000 But then there are the times when you could potentially be exploded. 274 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:02,000 I know. 275 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:05,000 It's like you got to take the good with the bad. 276 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:06,000 That's what I always say. 277 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:13,000 Tori's going great guns, while Eric's handling his with kid gloves. 278 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,000 All right, Eric, you done? 279 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:16,000 Yep. 280 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:17,000 Okay. 281 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:18,000 What do you think? 282 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:20,000 Wow, that looks just like Jamie. 283 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:21,000 That looks just like Adam. 284 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:22,000 Sweet. 285 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,000 Now that they're done, why don't we scan this one? 286 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,000 We'll use this for the ice sculptures. 287 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:27,000 Okay. 288 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:28,000 And then we can blow that one up. 289 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:29,000 Awesome. 290 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:30,000 Yeah. 291 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:34,000 For our global warming experiment, we need four identical ice sculptures. 292 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:39,000 So we're here at Artistic Ice Design where they're going to use their CNC machine to make us four ice jammies. 293 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:40,000 See the drill? 294 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:41,000 Yeah. 295 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:43,000 Carm it up, bro! 296 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:51,000 The CNC or Computer Numerical Control Machines are programmed to produce identical sculptures. 297 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:54,000 But as for that grating din they create... 298 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,000 Don't you just love that sound? 299 00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:59,000 That's what I was going for. 300 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:02,000 Each sculptor takes around 40 minutes to carve. 301 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:10,000 And then four identical ice jammies emerge. 302 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:11,000 Get it, America. 303 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:13,000 You got it? 304 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:14,000 I had a point. 305 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:16,000 No, let him, he got it. 306 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:17,000 Whoa! 307 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:18,000 Come on, man. 308 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:19,000 What are you doing? 309 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:20,000 Don't drop them. 310 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:23,000 Now that I have my army of ice jammies, I'm going to take over the world. 311 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:28,000 But first, I want to see which greenhouse gases cause these ice sculptures to melt faster. 312 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:32,000 Let's go, buddy. 313 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:36,000 Can you guys make me one more? 314 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:49,000 Our young scientists Brandon and Adam and Jamie are testing the tail that electric cars have no get up and go. 315 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,000 Adam's already taken the gas card for a spin. 316 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:53,000 His fastest lap? 317 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:54,000 58 seconds. 318 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:57,000 But will it run rings around the electric one? 319 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:03,000 This falls into the category on the mid-busters of another thing I get to do that is so crazy cool. 320 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:10,000 Like sitting in a doorway of a helicopter at 3,000 feet having an octopus eat out of my head. 321 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:13,000 Sky diving. 322 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:17,000 Racing these go-karts is such a rush. 323 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:22,000 Adam's hoping to put in an electrifying lap on the battery card. 324 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:29,000 But 26 high output batteries have beefed up the card in a way the guys weren't quite expecting. 325 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:31,000 This one is 302 pounds. 326 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:32,000 302 pounds? 327 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:36,000 120 some odd pounds heavier than the gas. 328 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:38,000 That's what the batteries and all the rig weights. 329 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:39,000 What are you going to do? 330 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:41,000 Well take it out on the track for starters. 331 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:47,000 Adam's revved up to see if his electric charge can give the gas burner a bit of a jolt. 332 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:55,000 Both cars develop an identical 25 horsepower so will the extra weight of the batteries slow down the electric car? 333 00:16:55,000 --> 00:17:00,000 Battery doesn't have the growl of gas but Adam's hoping it's got the bite. 334 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:02,000 He has four laps to find out. 335 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:03,000 It's absolutely silent. 336 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:05,000 All I can hear are the tires. 337 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:07,000 Almost like he's not there. 338 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:13,000 And a montage later and the results are in. 339 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:14,000 One minute. 340 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:17,000 Woo dude this thing smokes. 341 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:21,000 So the slug tag starting to look a little tarnished. 342 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:23,000 Electric versus gas go-karts what do you think? 343 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,000 Well time-wise there was no difference between the two. 344 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:29,000 Yeah the electric held its own it was no slug. 345 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:35,000 After the break Alyssa, Catherine, Carrie and Grant end up in a sticky situation. 346 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:37,000 It's got to be easier ways to save the environment. 347 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:43,000 And later Brandon, Adam and Janie see if an electric bike can burn rubber. 348 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:55,000 It's the Mythbusters Young Scientist special and now it's time for a real blast. 349 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:57,000 Oh excuse me. 350 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:01,000 Okay Carrie guess what the biggest polluter in the world is? 351 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:02,000 Cars. 352 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:03,000 No. 353 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:04,000 Factories. 354 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:05,000 No. 355 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:06,000 Tori. 356 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:07,000 It's the humble cow. 357 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:08,000 Cows? 358 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:09,000 Seriously? 359 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:14,000 Yes and according to this myth cow flatulence is the biggest single contributor to global warming. 360 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:19,000 Well as crazy as it sounds I mean that makes sense cows produce the greenhouse gas methane 361 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:23,000 and methane has 20 times the effect of carbon dioxide and global warming. 362 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:27,000 Also consider that there are over one billion cows in the world. 363 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:30,000 Boy guess we have a beefy mythibust. 364 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:33,000 Forget cars, forget factories. 365 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:39,000 The inconvenient truth of this myth is that it's cows that are the world's worst polluter. 366 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:44,000 But can the humble heifer really be bringing the planet to its knees? 367 00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:48,000 Okay so do you have any ideas on how we can test this? 368 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:49,000 Why don't we just start with the basics. 369 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:54,000 We'll get some cows, check out the engine room, see how much methane they produce 370 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:57,000 and then do a little math being that there's a billion cows in the world. 371 00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:59,000 We can see how bad for the environment they really are. 372 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:04,000 That sounds like a good plan but I'm a little fuzzy on the see how much methane they produce part. 373 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:07,000 I have a rough idea for a gas catcher. 374 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:08,000 Yeah I'm not touching that. 375 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:11,000 Well that's precisely what the young scientists are for. 376 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:20,000 And here are the young scientists Catherine and Alyssa unfortunately for them they've got no wind of what their methane mission is all about. 377 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:21,000 Hello? 378 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:22,000 Come in. 379 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:24,000 So Catherine and Alyssa right? 380 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:25,000 Yep. 381 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:28,000 So do you guys have any idea what myth we're gonna do? 382 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:29,000 Not really. 383 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:30,000 It's gonna be a dirty one. 384 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:32,000 I might want to change the shoes. 385 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:33,000 Uh oh. 386 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:39,000 With just enough time to say boot scoot, they're off to a dairy farm to gather gas. 387 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:40,000 Welcome. 388 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:41,000 Are you Albert? 389 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:42,000 I'm Albert. 390 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:43,000 I'm Grant. 391 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:46,000 Dairy farmer Albert Strauss is an expert on methane gas. 392 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:50,000 His famous creamery organic farm's been going since 1941. 393 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:56,000 We are on the hunt for some methane and we followed our noses here. 394 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:57,000 We came to the right place. 395 00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:05,000 What we're trying to find out here today is how much methane a single cow toot would contain. 396 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:11,000 And then from there we can figure out the impact the one of these little cows has on the environment. 397 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:16,000 Luckily the myth musters have plenty of experience with bovine behavior. 398 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:20,000 This is starting to feel like a bad idea. 399 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:24,000 So the young scientists are in good hands. 400 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:25,000 Give him back. 401 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:27,000 I'm in slime. 402 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:33,000 The plan is to bag a bovine bottom burps using a yet to be patented gas grabber. 403 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:36,000 It's a plastic bag at the end of a pole with a string. 404 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:45,000 And so when the cow lets off some gas she pulls a string and hopefully in that bag will be something that constitutes methane. 405 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:46,000 Slowly. 406 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:50,000 Carrie waits for the exact moment to pounce. 407 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:53,000 Grant, this is utterly disgusting. 408 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:56,000 You're doing great. Try and blend in. 409 00:20:56,000 --> 00:21:00,000 Oh, there's one. There's one up there. Up to your right. 410 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:01,000 Oh no, it's just poo. 411 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:02,000 That's a number two. 412 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:04,000 Lucky she's got lots of backup. 413 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:06,000 I don't think they like you. 414 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:11,000 Maybe if you rub some poo on you you'll smell more like them. 415 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:13,000 And as with all great plans. 416 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:14,000 Careful. 417 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:15,000 Easy. 418 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:16,000 Slowly. 419 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,000 That's good. That's good. 420 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:20,000 I think you got it. 421 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:22,000 I don't think they like that. 422 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:23,000 One down. 423 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:24,000 Good job. 424 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:27,000 This is not as easy as you might think it would be. 425 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:32,000 But has Carrie nabbed a bag of wind or just a bag of hot air? 426 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:37,000 Only UC Davis air quality guru, Dr. Frank Midler, can tell. 427 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:38,000 You've measured the wrong end. 428 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:42,000 The majority of methane comes from the front end of the cow, not the back end. 429 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:43,000 Yep, you heard right. 430 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:46,000 After all their effort they've got the wrong hole. 431 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:48,000 So how is the methane produced? 432 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:51,000 The methane is produced in the room of the cow, the first stomach. 433 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,000 It's very large, about 50 gallons. 434 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:54,000 50 gallons? 435 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:55,000 Yes. 436 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:57,000 The microbes inside the room keep producing methane gas. 437 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:00,000 And of course one way or another this methane has to come out. 438 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,000 But the main end is the front. 439 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:04,000 He's belching it out. 440 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:13,000 Inside these bovine bio bubbles they can monitor methane levels from every burp and every cow pat to levels of one part per billion. 441 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,000 So generally how much methane does one cow produce? 442 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:21,000 Just as a rule of thumb, between 250 and 400 pounds per cow per year. 443 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:27,000 So that's one billion cows making 400 pounds of methane each a year. 444 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:30,000 Ouch, and that's not the only bad news. 445 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:35,000 Once the manure gets old and older and storts some place, it produces methane as well. 446 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:39,000 Its methane may have all right, but what's that mean for the myth? 447 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:40,000 Okay, what have we learned so far? 448 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:45,000 Your average cow burps over 300 pounds of methane per year, which doesn't sound like a lot, 449 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:52,000 but considering there are over a billion cows in the world, that's almost 16,000 tons of methane per hour. 450 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:56,000 And to make matters worse, as a manure rots, it creates more methane. 451 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,000 So all in all, it's looking like cows are pretty bad for the environment. 452 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,000 Not so fast. 453 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:05,000 I mean, while there's nothing you can do about the burps, apparently you can harvest methane from manure, 454 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,000 which you can then use to power things. 455 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:10,000 You realize that means we have to collect poo. 456 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:13,000 Which is precisely what the young scientists are for. 457 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:17,000 And what better place to harvest this cow dung than back at the creamery? 458 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:20,000 The girl's ready to see how dirty science can get? 459 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:22,000 Oh, yeah. 460 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:28,000 Because of their relentless burping, the cow's character reference is taking a nose dump. 461 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:33,000 But if the mythbusters can use the methane from their dung, then their reputation may be saved. 462 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:38,000 All right, you guys, now comes the glamorous part of TV work. 463 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:45,000 And what self-respecting, up-and-coming scientists wouldn't love to get their hands on a project like this. 464 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,000 Who's having a good time here? 465 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:50,000 No comments. 466 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:54,000 We've got three containers full of fresh cow dung. 467 00:23:54,000 --> 00:24:00,000 We're going to take them back to the shop and try and build our own methane digester and see if we can get it to work. 468 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:09,000 Jamie and Adam are testing the myth electric vehicles are slowpokes. 469 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,000 The electric go-kart kick butt. 470 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:14,000 But before they call the myth, Adam wants more proof. 471 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:18,000 And at Infineon Raceway, it's time to up the ante. 472 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:19,000 So, what's up next? 473 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:22,000 Next we've got motorcycles. 474 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:23,000 Nice. 475 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:28,000 This is the kill-a-cycle, the world's fastest electric drag bike. 476 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:34,000 It's 490 horsepower, 374 volts, and it has a dry weight of 645 pounds. 477 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:37,000 Bill Dubais built this bike from scratch. 478 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,000 What do you have to say to people that think electric vehicles are slugs? 479 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:45,000 You see it out in the track, and you tell me if you think an electric vehicle is a slug. 480 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:50,000 And the kill-a-cycle will be slugging it out against this, Q. Racecaller, Brandon. 481 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:54,000 This is a gas-powered pro stock drag motorcycle. 482 00:24:55,000 --> 00:25:01,000 It has a horsepower of 270, 2680 cc, and a dry weight of 420. 483 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:13,000 And the contender, pure electric grunt. 484 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:16,000 And that's just the warm-up run. 485 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:19,000 They're all ready. I think we need to get down to the finish line to watch this. 486 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:20,000 Let's go. I can't wait. 487 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:23,000 Which one's faster? You know, I really don't know. 488 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,000 Each bike will do one time run. 489 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:30,000 The kill-a-cycle. 490 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:37,000 163 for the quarter. Now, that's quick. 491 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:46,000 But at 166 miles an hour, the pro stock just wins the game. 492 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:48,000 Man, they both were going fast. 493 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:53,000 That bike is smoking. I've never seen anything like it. 494 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:55,000 500 horsepower up from batteries? 495 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:59,000 Okay, so maybe I got beat by the gas-powered stock bike, but only just. 496 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,000 Next up is we are finishing with the Flash. 497 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:05,000 Really, really, really fast cars. 498 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:11,000 After the break, the guys lift the lid on the secret of cow power. 499 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:17,000 And later, Brandon, Adam, and Jamie feel the need, the need for speed. 500 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:28,000 Is cow power real or just a load of old bull? 501 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:33,000 Can these drums of doo-doo do the trick and make methane? 502 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:35,000 There's only one way to find out. 503 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:39,000 Back at M7, the methane digester tanks arrived. 504 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:41,000 125 gallons. 505 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:45,000 Now, a methane digester is a barrel you fill with organic material. 506 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:49,000 As the organic material breaks down, it gives off methane gas. 507 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:53,000 It kind of looks like a car. You've got this big belly, you've got the little legs down here. 508 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:56,000 All these is a head and a little tail. 509 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:59,000 You certainly have the artist's vision. 510 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:04,000 So to make the digester work, you have to get this into that. 511 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:08,000 It's time to slip the slop into the digester. 512 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:15,000 The worst-case scenario, a virtual tidal wave of bulls will engulf Carrie and I, 513 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:18,000 soaking us to the bone with cow dung. 514 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:21,000 Everybody ready for this? 515 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:22,000 Yeah. 516 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:24,000 Ready. 517 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:27,000 Maybe we should have opened this on the ground. 518 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:28,000 Ready? 519 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:30,000 No! 520 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:31,000 Okay. 521 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:32,000 Okay, okay. 522 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:33,000 Get the lid. 523 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:35,000 Pull the lid up. 524 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:36,000 There we go. 525 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:38,000 That's perfect. 526 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:40,000 Just like clockwork. 527 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:41,000 Carrie? 528 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:42,000 Yeah? 529 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:43,000 Take the lid. 530 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:44,000 Look at me. 531 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:45,000 Look at me. 532 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:46,000 Stay with me. 533 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:50,000 Get the lid and tilt it forward as you pull it back. 534 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:53,000 Perfect. 535 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:54,000 Okay. 536 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:58,000 It's got to be easier ways to save the environment. 537 00:27:58,000 --> 00:27:59,000 See? 538 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:01,000 I told you it was foolproof. 539 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:03,000 Hey, piece of cake. 540 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:08,000 And of course always leave a bit of time for potty humor. 541 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:10,000 No! No! 542 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:16,000 So now they filled the tank with 100 gallons of goo, 543 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:19,000 leaving room on top for the gas. 544 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:24,000 When I came to Mythbusters, I was expecting to do some drilling 545 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:27,000 and cut some steel and, you know, build stuff, 546 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:31,000 but this is more of like a smelly job. 547 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:36,000 Once the temperature starts to climb towards the optimum 90 degrees, 548 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:40,000 they cap the top and add some plumbing. 549 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:43,000 This is our methane digester. 550 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:45,000 In this tank we have 100 gallons of cow manure. 551 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:48,000 The gas comes out at the top, comes down this tube, 552 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:50,000 this valve bleeds off any condensation. 553 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:52,000 The gas continues along, splits off, 554 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:55,000 goes through these cutoff valves, into the coupler, 555 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:57,000 into the tire inflation valve. 556 00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:01,000 And if nature takes its course, hopefully these will inflate with methane. 557 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:04,000 After much thought, Catherine Christens, 558 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:07,000 the methane maker, um, Moo Moo. 559 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:08,000 Beautiful! 560 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:09,000 We even made a tail. 561 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:13,000 Then Cisco Imahara gives Moo Moo a bit of a giddy up. 562 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:14,000 Woo! 563 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,000 Come on, Moo Moo. 564 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:18,000 Let's make some methane. 565 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:21,000 Call him crazy, but it's worth it. 566 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:24,000 The hippy heifers been very busy overnight. 567 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:25,000 I'm so excited. 568 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:27,000 We just started with some cow dung, 569 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:29,000 and we already have two inner tubes full of methane. 570 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:32,000 I think it's really useful because cow dung is something that is free, 571 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:37,000 and we have a wonderful supply of it, and people can use it as power. 572 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:39,000 Next question is, for what? 573 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:42,000 So the challenge here is to take a regular, off-the-shelf, 574 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:44,000 gasoline-powered lawn mower, 575 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:48,000 and convert it to a Moo Moo methane-powered lawn mower. 576 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:51,000 If we get the valves all set up right, 577 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:53,000 hopefully we'll get some sort of ignition. 578 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:57,000 And that brings us to the blowing up bit. 579 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:01,000 Normally the gasoline engines rely on a correct mix of fuel vapor 580 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:02,000 and air. 581 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:06,000 So we need to see what happens to methane when you add air to it, 582 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:12,000 and see if you actually get enough of a reaction that could possibly power an engine. 583 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:15,000 This'll be 10-inch pure methane! 584 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:20,000 Pure methane has enough poke to power a mower, 585 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:23,000 but add 5% oxygen to the mix. 586 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:24,000 Woo! 587 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:25,000 Yeah! 588 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:26,000 Yeah! 589 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:31,000 Methane packs a punch when you add a little fire, 590 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:34,000 but when you add a little oxygen and then a little fire, 591 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:36,000 it goes from, bam! 592 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:40,000 Which is exactly what internal combustion engines need to operate. 593 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:44,000 But will it woof the lawn mower into action? 594 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:48,000 We'll stick an electric motor on just about anything we can get our hands on. 595 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:52,000 So if you want to see an electric ATV go up against it at gas one, 596 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:55,000 log on to Discovery.com slash MythBusters. 597 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:00,000 The heat's on back at Ice Station Central. 598 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:04,000 The greenhouses are ready, and the Jamie Ice Dolls are chilling out. 599 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:10,000 But can their small-scale greenhouses back at M7 really produce a plausible greenhouse effect? 600 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:14,000 The guys head off to consult an expert at UC Berkeley. 601 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:18,000 And after a little demonstration showing the power of ice... 602 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:19,000 Ah! 603 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:22,000 Oh my God! 604 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:24,000 ...its down to business. 605 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:29,000 So I've heard a lot about people making models to protect the future of global warming, 606 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:33,000 and with all the complicated systems on Earth, wouldn't that be a little difficult? 607 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:36,000 We can do experiments on small scales in the lab. 608 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:39,000 We can make observations on a global scale. 609 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:43,000 But you're right, it is hard to replicate in a 3-foot by 3-foot chamber. 610 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:47,000 It's a challenge. I think it can be done, but it's a challenge to replicate that. 611 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:50,000 Challenge? That's MythBusters' second name. 612 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:54,000 And back at M7, it's time to commit the Jamie's to a watery grave. 613 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:57,000 What Jamie's looking at, you like that? 614 00:31:57,000 --> 00:31:59,000 That ice-cold stair. 615 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:01,000 Try working with them all the time. 616 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:04,000 Everything has to be kept identical in this experiment. 617 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:06,000 That looks good right there. 618 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:09,000 So that's 1,570-foot candles. 619 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:14,000 So let's try to get all the lights so that that amount of light is going into each greenhouse. 620 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:15,000 Okay. 621 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:17,000 Accurate thermometers are essential. 622 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:21,000 These thermometers measure a tenth of a centigrade. 623 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:25,000 To make sure it all runs to plan, the guys have called in Manish Gupta, 624 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:28,000 a gas monitoring expert from Los Gatos Research. 625 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:33,000 The Earth's CO2 levels stand at around 350 parts per million, 626 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:37,000 and methane, a tiny 1,800 parts per billion. 627 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:40,000 But amounts that small are no problem for this gear. 628 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:42,000 For methane, it's in the part per billion level. 629 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:44,000 And for CO2, in the part per million level. 630 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:49,000 So now they can up the greenhouse gas levels in minutely accurate increments. 631 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:55,000 And once the gases are in, everyone can chill out and watch ice melt. 632 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:57,000 Let's start melting some Jamie's. 633 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:02,000 When we return, the guys put the pedal to the electric metal. 634 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:04,000 I want to see what it does against a real race car. 635 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:06,000 Can you arrange that for me? 636 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:07,000 I'll make some calls. 637 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:20,000 An infinity on raceway that kilocycles proved one thing. 638 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:25,000 Battery power is hot, but it's still got beat by its gas-powered rival. 639 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:27,000 So what's next? 640 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:29,000 This is the X1, an electric sports car. 641 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:33,000 It's 400 volts, 600 amp system, gives it 250 horsepower, 642 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:35,000 and its dry weight is just over 1,500 pounds. 643 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:38,000 But is this a pretender or a contender? 644 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:42,000 Inventor Ian Wright says the power is in the polymer. 645 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:44,000 These ones are lithium polymer. 646 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:47,000 It's actually the same technology used in model airplanes. 647 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:49,000 They're a high power to weight ratio battery. 648 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:53,000 So for a 500 pound battery system, you can get as much as 700 horsepower. 649 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:54,000 Wow. 650 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:57,000 In the other corner... 651 00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:59,000 This is an F430 Ferrari. 652 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:03,000 It's 4.3 liter gas engine, gives it 495 horsepower, 653 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:05,000 and its dry weight is 3,400 pounds. 654 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:09,000 The gas car is a pedigree proven performer. 655 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:13,000 With top notch just under 200 miles an hour, 656 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:16,000 this flying pony's definitely no slouch. 657 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:18,000 My money's not electric on this one. 658 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:20,000 I don't know. I think it's going to be a close call. 659 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:25,000 They're straining at the leash, and in 3, 2, 1... 660 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:37,000 Electric ran the quarter in 11.96. 661 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:40,000 The Ferrari slower in 12.7. 662 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:42,000 Electric kicked the gas's butt. 663 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:44,000 It really did. 664 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:46,000 Well, it's clear as could be. 665 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:48,000 The electric car smoked the gas car. 666 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:52,000 So if you think electric cars are sluggish, you're wrong. 667 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:55,000 The electric car won by plenty. 668 00:34:55,000 --> 00:35:00,000 But crazy as it seems, its top speed was slower than the Ferrari. 669 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:03,000 103 versus 119 miles an hour. 670 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:04,000 So what's up with this? 671 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:07,000 Everyone's top speed was lower than the Ferrari's and yet it won. 672 00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:10,000 It's because the electric motor has a lot more bottom end torque. 673 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:12,000 It got off the line quicker. 674 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:14,000 So it didn't need to go that fast to win. 675 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:15,000 Wow! 676 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:17,000 So the secret to the action is in the traction. 677 00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:20,000 The power's fed progressively to the wheels. 678 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:22,000 And with no gearbox or gears, 679 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:24,000 the electric car's linear acceleration 680 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:27,000 means it doesn't lose its grip off the line. 681 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:31,000 Whereas the gas car wastes time spinning its wheels. 682 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:34,000 And that's enough to give the X1 the winning edge. 683 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,000 It's quicker but not faster. 684 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:39,000 That's cool! 685 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:42,000 So far the guys have gunned the go-karts, 686 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:46,000 dragged the bikes and given the sports cars a spin. 687 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:49,000 But next it's time for the ultimate test. 688 00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:52,000 I want to know though what it does against a real race car. 689 00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:53,000 Can you arrange that for me? 690 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:54,000 I'll make some calls. 691 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:56,000 Okay, good. Let's do it. 692 00:35:56,000 --> 00:36:01,000 Music 693 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:03,000 At Rancho El Stinko, 694 00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:05,000 Moomoo's got gas. 695 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:06,000 Two bags full. 696 00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:09,000 But is that enough to light up a lawn mower? 697 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:12,000 This is where we see if cow power can actually turn into real power. 698 00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:16,000 So the mower gets hitched up to pure Moomoo power. 699 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:17,000 And... 700 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:22,000 Pressure on it guys. 701 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:24,000 How can we do an electric start on this thing? 702 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:26,000 I told you we needed an electric start on this thing. 703 00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:29,000 The full start was cheaper. Sorry. 704 00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:33,000 It takes years of experience to come up with this solution. 705 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:37,000 Our strong recommendation, don't try this at home. 706 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:38,000 Almost. 707 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:40,000 You like my electric start? 708 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:42,000 The pressure's on. 709 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:46,000 The girls have added an extra 200 pounds to the inner tubes. 710 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:49,000 Music 711 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:52,000 And the sockets finally socked it. 712 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,000 Ha ha ha ha! 713 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:56,000 Methane powered lawn mower. 714 00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,000 That's powered by manure. 715 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:00,000 I'm so proud of Moomoo. 716 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:02,000 She filled up two full inner tubes 717 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:05,000 and we actually powered the lawn mower using her methane. 718 00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:08,000 Methane filled inner tubes in the shop is one thing. 719 00:37:08,000 --> 00:37:12,000 But letting these two ring circus lures in the big wide world 720 00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:13,000 is something else entirely. 721 00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:15,000 We've come out to an organic lawn 722 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:17,000 because the idea is we want to get some clippings 723 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:20,000 to feed to our organic cows back at the creamery. 724 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:25,000 Music 725 00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:29,000 Just when it looked like Moomoo was going to be a party pooper. 726 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:30,000 That's it? 727 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:31,000 Ha ha ha! 728 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:32,000 Okay, we have ignition. 729 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:33,000 It works. 730 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:36,000 And it cuts grass too. 731 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:38,000 Now if I were going to, you know, 732 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:41,000 design a methane powered lawn mower from scratch 733 00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:43,000 I'd probably start with something similar to this. 734 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:46,000 But I'd have a pressurized tank on board 735 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:49,000 so that you don't have to have people standing on inner tubes. 736 00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:52,000 And most importantly, an electric start. 737 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:55,000 So it's time to take the clippings back to the creamer. 738 00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:57,000 And Albert's let them in on a family secret. 739 00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:00,000 His whole farm runs on Moomoo. 740 00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:02,000 The surprising thing about this dairy 741 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:06,000 is that it works in real life on a gigantic scale. 742 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:09,000 Oh, it's a river of poo! 743 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:11,000 Ha ha ha ha! 744 00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:12,000 Can you smell that? 745 00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:14,000 That is the sweet smell of power. 746 00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:16,000 Oh! 747 00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:19,000 And it all goes into this. 748 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:23,000 So that's the size of the digester you need to power the farm. 749 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:24,000 Yes it is. 750 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:26,000 It does about 90% of our electricity. 751 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:29,000 How much gas is produced by this pond? 752 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:32,000 We produce about 2,000 cubic feet per day. 753 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:35,000 And how much liquid does it take to produce all this gas? 754 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:38,000 Oh, this is a 650,000 gallon pond. 755 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:40,000 Wait, so you don't have any electricity bills? 756 00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:42,000 You don't have any gas bills? 757 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:44,000 You don't have any bills to heat your water up? 758 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:45,000 Very little. 759 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:47,000 I'm getting me a cow. 760 00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:51,000 Albert, you really know how to show your guests a good time. 761 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:54,000 I'm standing in one gassy cloud right here. 762 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:55,000 You are. 763 00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:57,000 Oh, did I fall in? 764 00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:59,000 Carrie, remember... 765 00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:01,000 Oh, it's a river of poo! 766 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:07,000 The Mythbusters' Methade Mayhem has finally come the full circle. 767 00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:12,000 So is cow gas ruining the environment? 768 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:14,000 I'm afraid the myth is confirmed. 769 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:15,000 What news? 770 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:18,000 We can harvest the gas produced by the cows and use it as power. 771 00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:22,000 And also eliminate a lot of greenhouse gas at the same time. 772 00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:23,000 So it's confirmed? 773 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:24,000 It's confirmed. 774 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:28,000 But the news isn't all bad because there's a way to minimize the effects. 775 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:29,000 More good news. 776 00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:32,000 You two can go home and take a bath. 777 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:35,000 Seriously, take a bath? 778 00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:37,000 Thank God. 779 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:41,000 Have you smelled yourself lately? 780 00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:43,000 I've been here with you. 781 00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:17,000 The Methane and the CO2 have been a degree higher consistently. 782 00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:22,000 But after three and a half hours withstanding the heat, the Jamie's finally cracked. 783 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:24,000 So we've let the experiment run for four hours. 784 00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:27,000 And I think from the results that we're getting, we can come to a conclusion. 785 00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:32,000 Both the Methane and the CO2 greenhouses were made hotter than the control. 786 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:37,000 Throughout the whole experiment, it looks like the gases do increase the temperature inside the greenhouses. 787 00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:41,000 The CO2 greenhouse stayed steady on 24.8 degrees Celsius. 788 00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:44,000 The Methane on 24.9. 789 00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:48,000 And both the controls were consistently a degree cooler. 790 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:55,000 I think that this is showing that CO2 and Methane are major culprits for global warming. 791 00:40:55,000 --> 00:40:59,000 All right, so the results from the global warming experiment were pretty conclusive. 792 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:04,000 Yeah, the greenhouses with carbon dioxide and Methane stayed consistently warmer than the control. 793 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:08,000 Yeah, it was almost one degree Celsius warmer the entire time. 794 00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:10,000 All right, so this one's confirmed? 795 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:11,000 Confirmed. 796 00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:23,000 On the racetrack, the myth that electric cars are slow pokes is hitting the skids. 797 00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:30,000 There's one more test for the X1 sports car if Jamie can find a worthy challenger. 798 00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:36,000 Then, as if by magic, he finds a pedigree race car just spinning wheels in the pits. 799 00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:39,000 The FJR 50 is a Formula 3 race car. 800 00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:45,000 It's 2-liter turbocharged gas engine gives it 300 horsepower and its dry weight is about 1200 pounds. 801 00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:50,000 And it's got a serious nutcase to drive it. 802 00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:53,000 I don't know about this one. I don't know whether it's a fair race or not. 803 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:56,000 That's a honest and goodness race car against a street car. 804 00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:58,000 Yeah, that's not about fair. 805 00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:00,000 This is now about pure fun. 806 00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:03,000 It's showtime. The ultimate test. 807 00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:10,000 The X1 street car's got a real job on its hands against the fully fledged Formula 3 race car. 808 00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:11,000 Dude! 809 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:20,000 That did so much better than I thought it would. That was amazing. 810 00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:23,000 I think our work here is done. Results speak for themselves. 811 00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:29,000 They totally do. The electric vehicles were anything but sluggish and slow. 812 00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:30,000 With busted. 813 00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:31,000 Totally. Let's go. 814 00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:40,000 But there's still one little item of unfinished business. 815 00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:42,000 There's something I want to let you in on. 816 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:43,000 Okay. 817 00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:46,000 Remember when I had you sculpt, Adam? 818 00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:47,000 Yeah. 819 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:48,000 And I told you it was C4. 820 00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:49,000 Uh-huh. 821 00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:50,000 It's not really C4. 822 00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:56,000 Because I mean, would I do something crazy like this if this was C4? 823 00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:59,000 I mean, I'm nuts. But I'm not that crazy. 824 00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:03,000 This isn't going to really explode. You're just trying to trick me. 825 00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:06,000 I don't know. Here we go. Plug your ears. 826 00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:08,000 I knew it. 827 00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:14,000 Hey, are you in the fifth to the eighth grade? 828 00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:19,000 Do you think that you have what it takes to be America's next top young scientist? 829 00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:26,000 Go to discoveryeducation.com slash youngscientist and enter Discovery Education's Young Scientist Challenge. 830 00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:30,000 But enter soon. The deadline is June 15th.