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On this extra special episode of Mythbusters,

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I expect you guys to get to the bottom of this once and for all and then report back to me.

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We're on it.

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At the President's request, Adam and Jamie breathe new light into the myth of Archimedes' solar ray.

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That's it. That's what I'm talking about. That's perfect.

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Finding out if supersizing their mirror military...

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Do you want to save your own city?

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Can catch the sun's rays and set a boat ablaze.

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If mirrors are really intense, that's a spirit solution.

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Meanwhile, Kari Torian Grant...

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Red bean, stop!

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Take on a fiendish, filmic flip.

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Investigating if a superhuman punch...

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Trigger away!

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Can make an SUV's somersault head over wheels.

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There's so much that can go wrong on this.

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Who are the Mythbusters?

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Adam Savage...

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It's so different!

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And Jamie Heineman...

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Is that hot enough for ya?

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Between them more than 30 years of special effects experience...

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Joining them...

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Grant Imahara...

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He's alive!

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Kari Byron...

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I was less excited after my first kiss.

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And Tori Belichi...

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This is real science.

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They don't just tell the myth.

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They put them to the test.

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The Mythbusters

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First up, the Mythbusters have a viewer request...

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Straight from the top.

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You know, some viewers may be watching us and thinking,

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Huh?

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The boys are standing on a very accurate set of the White House Library.

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But they'd be wrong.

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Indeed, they would be.

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Because this is not a set.

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This is the real deal.

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Because on today's special episode of Mythbusters,

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the myth we're busting...

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Comes courtesy of a very special guest.

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In fact, here he is.

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Hey guys.

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How are you?

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Very good.

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Good to see ya.

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Welcome to the White House.

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Thank you, Mr. President.

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It is a thrill to have you here.

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So what can we do for you?

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Well, I am a big fan of Mythbusters.

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Really?

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I am and so are the girls.

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Partly because we are just fascinated by science.

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You guys make it fun and exciting and interesting.

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And occasionally you blow things up.

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Which is always cool.

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But I have a personal interest in this as president.

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Because nothing's more important to our country's future

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than getting young people engaged in math and science.

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A lot of the challenges that we face as a country

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are going to depend on how engaged young people are in science.

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And so I'm just thrilled that you guys do such a great job making it fun.

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Thank you, sir.

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That means a great deal to us.

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Well, I appreciate that.

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Now, I do know that science requires a lot of trial and error.

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Part of what Mythbusters is about is testing out various hypotheses.

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And I think that we've got a big one that hasn't been thoroughly tested.

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Which one is that?

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Well, it is Archimedes solar ray.

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Well, that is a classic.

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It is a classic.

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And so I'm hoping that we can take one more crack at it.

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Okay.

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The story goes that Archimedes designed a solar weapon

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that focused the sun's rays with such ferocity,

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it set an invading Roman navy ablaze.

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But when the Mythbusters duplicated his ancient design,

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It's 280 degrees.

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It failed to fuel a fire.

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I'm standing right in it.

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And I'm not dead yet.

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So they reloaded the ray with the help of MIT and 300 mirrors.

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Look at that!

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But that still didn't set this myth alight.

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I see a little smoke, but I've seen worse than that before.

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Which leaves Adam with a burning question.

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If you don't mind me saying so, sir,

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what do you think we actually got wrong on this?

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Well, there's one thing you didn't do.

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Well, we did use a giant solar mirror ray.

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And we did use 300 bronze mirrors on shelving units that were amable.

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True, but we didn't use, what, manpower?

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Exactly.

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Ah, and the Greeks had plenty of access to manpower.

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So if we could get a whole bunch of people, like 500 people,

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each with their own mirror, we might just be able to test this.

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So how do you want us to do that?

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Well, I'm going to leave that up to you guys.

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You're the experts.

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I'm going to stay here in Washington.

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I've got a little bit of business to attend to,

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but I expect you guys to go back to San Francisco, figure this out,

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get to the bottom of this once and for all,

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and then report back to me.

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We're on it.

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The Presidential Challenge has been issued.

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And it'll take a crack team of mythbusters to mastermind this one.

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Not only will they need 500 stand-in soldiers armed with 500 mirrors,

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they'll have to find a way to focus 500 beams into a spot small enough

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to fire up this myth.

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The pressure's on, man.

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It's quite a challenge, isn't it?

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Yeah, you know, I'm thinking back to the first time we shot this,

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and the trouble we had getting even 12 people to aim their mirrors on a single spot.

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Who's that?

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Who's that?

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I think that the biggest single challenge we're going to face in this story

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is getting all 500 of our soldiers' mirrors aimed on the smallest possible target.

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Yeah, we need to come up with some sort of a system of aiming device.

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Yeah, we do.

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Have you got any ideas?

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I do, actually.

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I've got a couple myself.

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Well, why don't we mock it up and scale and see which one works best?

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Perfect. Let's do it.

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From previous experience, the guys know that the tighter the focal point,

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the hotter the temperature and the more chance of flame.

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So they divide and conquer to take aim on the aim in small scale.

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If you're out in the wild with a signal mirror and you're trying to signal, let's say, a passing aircraft,

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the way you do it is you sight the aircraft up in the sky,

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and then you put your hand directly underneath it,

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and then you use a signal mirror to sweep the sun across your hand

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and thus across that passing aircraft.

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Adam's idea is to create a hand substitute to wave his beam across.

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Yeah.

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That's what I'm looking for, isn't it, little Jamie?

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Meanwhile, Jamie is gunning for inspiration.

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Now, when I think of aiming and targets, of course, I think of guns.

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They have gun sights, one here and one here,

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and if you line those two things up with your bullseye,

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you know your bullet's going to hit it, more or less.

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Jamie's no-fuss solution is a pencil and putty,

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but unfortunately, there's a problem.

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Now let's just see what happens when I move the sun.

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That's not working.

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This aiming thing is fine, except for one fatal problem,

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and that is that the sun moves.

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Its relationship with this mirror, this sight, and the target is constantly changing.

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So something as simple as a gun sight on a pistol, it's not going to help us out here.

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Jamie's system may be shot to pieces, but Adam's reticule has led him to another discovery.

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I don't want to build 500 of these, so I'm thinking actually about stringing some material across the aimers.

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It's literally a eureka moment, as Adam ditches individual aimers

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Wait a minute, netting.

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for something altogether more communal.

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Ah, yeah.

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I think I've found the perfect aiming system for our 500 soldiers,

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and it is stretching a net in front of them along the shoreline between them and the boat.

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All they have to do is line up and aim their mirror at the spot on the net

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that they can see the enemy boat, and they should be hitting that boat.

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It's cheap, it's easy, I think it's ready for a medium-scale test.

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Don't you, little Jamie?

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I do.

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Next, Carrie Grant and Tori take on a fiendish flip.

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So while Adam and Jamie are doing a myth about an ancient warrior, we're going to do one about a modern one.

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How so?

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Well, we're doing a myth from Hellboy, which combines two of my favorite things.

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Robots in math?

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Legos and spice girls?

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No, crashes and physics.

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Ah, I know the scene you're talking about.

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This is when Hellboy is walking across the road, a car is coming straight at him,

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and to stop the car, he punches the hood, causing the car to flip over his head.

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Exactly. His punch transfers the forward linear momentum of the car into circular motion.

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It's all so easy for Hellboy.

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One hammer blown to the hood, and the SUV's somersaults head over wheels.

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But are the physics of this flip true, or is it just Hollywood hype?

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Okay, there's two problems that we need to solve straight up.

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First of all, how do we measure the impact of a punch of a mythical creature?

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And secondly, how do we punch a car without running over what's punching it?

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Well, one way to get around the second problem is we could just drop a weight from a crane.

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I mean, I could build some kind of giant steel fist when the car's underneath it,

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or release it, and it'll hit the front end, bam.

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And the first problem?

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Well, essentially what we're doing here is creating a pivot at the front end.

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We start off by finding out how much weight it takes to make that touch the ground.

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I bet we could calculate the rest.

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Sounds like a good place to start.

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So to replicate the diabolical powers of this punch, they'll need a crane to lift a giant steel fist of fury.

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Then they'll drop it 20 feet onto an oncoming SUV,

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grab the nose, and possibly flip it just like Hellboy.

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But that's one heck of a punch.

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So first they need to know just how hefty the fist they drop needs to be.

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Looks like the place.

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Yeah, man. Cranes, cranes, cranes.

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So in order to flip a vehicle, you need to do two things.

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One, stop the forward movement, and two, drive the front end into the ground,

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forming a pivot point to flip over.

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So that's why we're here at Doc Bailey's Crane Yard.

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We're going to find out how much mass it takes to ground the front end of this vehicle.

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So the way that we're going to do that is drop heavier and heavier weights on the front end of our vehicle

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until the nose is actually touching the ground.

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Once we have that, we'll know exactly how much force our fist needs to punch with.

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And they're starting with 1,200 pounds.

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Okay, so the whole goal here is to get this edge down into the ground.

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Now, the standard ground clearance in this vehicle is 18 inches.

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We have gotten it to about 12.

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So we need to move on to something larger.

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To get the nose to the ground, they ramp up the weight to a mighty 5,000 pounds.

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This is definitely going to scratch the paint.

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Run!

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At more than the weight of the car, unsurprisingly, 5,000 pounds does more than just scratch the paint.

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Look at that. That is all 5,000 pounds on the front end of our vehicle,

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and the front end is not going any lower than that.

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So we've got our weight of 5,000 pounds.

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That's what it's going to take to drive the front end of this vehicle down 18 inches into the ground.

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That gives us 7,500 foot-pounds of work.

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Now we take that, plug it into our big hairy equation,

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choose a height of about 20 feet to drop the fist from, something manageable.

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That gives us an approximate weight of the fist of 1,500 pounds to produce this effect. Hope.

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That's the mass of our infernal impact.

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So now it's over to Tori to create this fist of fury.

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What I have here is a 5-foot-tall, 10-inch diameter steel rod.

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Now this is what we're going to raise up 20 feet and drop it on the front end of the vehicle to see if we get that car to flip.

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Yep, it's taken a lot of welding, angle grinding, and polishing to make a fist of 1,500 pounds of steel.

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But finally, the fist of doom is ready.

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Ha! Ha! Ha!

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After the break, the mythbusters go full tilt for a flip.

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And later...

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Do you want to save your own city?

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At the president's request...

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I think that we've got a big one that hasn't been thoroughly tested.

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Which one is that?

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It is Archimedes solar ray.

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The mythbusters are going back to the looking glass.

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I think it's ready for prime time.

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Don't you, little Jamie?

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I do.

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But before they're 500 fighters armed with 500 mirrors, take aim.

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First, there's pause for reflection.

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Now before we go and implement this aiming system times 500 soldiers, we want to make sure that it works.

246
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So we're going to test it in small scale up here on Jamie's roof.

247
00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:46,000
And that's where this scrappy band of Greek soldiers comes in.

248
00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:49,000
They're going to use their mirrors to try and see just how good this system is.

249
00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:50,000
You guys ready?

250
00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:52,000
Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

251
00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:53,000
I think they're ready.

252
00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:57,000
I'll be standing right here with my fire extinguisher just in case.

253
00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:03,000
And when I give the go-ahead, our 12 mirror holders will have 60 seconds by my stopwatch

254
00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:09,000
to redirect the energy of the sun through their mirrors towards the red dot in the middle of the target.

255
00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,000
At that point, we'll take two readings.

256
00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:19,000
This is our stills camera. We'll be photographing both tests with this to find and compare the smallest possible surface area of the beams on the target.

257
00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,000
This is our thermal imaging camera.

258
00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:23,000
It's going to be reading the temperature of both tests.

259
00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:27,000
And we're going to look for the test to give us the hottest and smallest beam.

260
00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:34,000
Okay, no aiming device starting in three, two, one, go!

261
00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:39,000
The volunteers swing into action, attempting to focus on the target 100 feet away.

262
00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:43,000
And for this control, they'll be aiming without a net.

263
00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:44,000
Try and shake your beam.

264
00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:46,000
That's often a really good way to figure out where it is.

265
00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:47,000
30 seconds.

266
00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:49,000
Come on, what are you guys doing?

267
00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:51,000
Light my fire. Come on.

268
00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:57,000
But with 12 beams all vying for the same target, it's hard to tell who's hitting a spot.

269
00:13:57,000 --> 00:13:58,000
You guys are still moving around.

270
00:13:58,000 --> 00:13:59,000
Come on, zone it in.

271
00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:00,000
Dial it in.

272
00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:02,000
And after 60 seconds...

273
00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:05,000
And mirrors down.

274
00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:07,000
That wasn't very good at all.

275
00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:09,000
The two cameras get the shot.

276
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:14,000
Here's what I see when I look at both the stills and the thermal imaging camera on test one.

277
00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:18,000
I see in the stills camera a beam that's really diffused covering this whole area.

278
00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:21,000
On the thermal camera, I see the whole thing being warm.

279
00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:24,000
I want to see only this spot warm, not all of this.

280
00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:27,000
That's going to give me the chance of fire.

281
00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:31,000
So will the addition of the netting help our reflective regiment?

282
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,000
Cue test two.

283
00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:38,000
In three, two, one, go.

284
00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:41,000
Now remember, the smaller the focus...

285
00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:43,000
That's it. That's what I'm talking about.

286
00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,000
Focus in like that. That's perfect.

287
00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:49,000
...the more concentrated the beam and the more heat.

288
00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:54,000
I can feel that. The black is way too hot to touch.

289
00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:58,000
Once again at the 60 second mark, the data is recorded.

290
00:14:58,000 --> 00:14:59,000
And you're done.

291
00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:01,000
Mirrors down.

292
00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:05,000
We've got two tests under our belt and here's the comparison that I want you to see.

293
00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:08,000
First, stills camera, test one and test two.

294
00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:09,000
Check that out.

295
00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:14,000
Test two, a lot more focus, but that is not the one I want to show you.

296
00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:16,000
Out for the real fire.

297
00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:20,000
Check out the thermal imaging camera, test one and test two.

298
00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:24,000
Look at that. Look how tight that spot is in test two.

299
00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:26,000
That's the kind of fire I'm talking about.

300
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:29,000
That's telling me that this system works.

301
00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:36,000
All right, let's see if we can flip a car with a punch.

302
00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:41,000
We're out at the Alameda runway to test whether a superhero punch can flip a car.

303
00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:47,000
No, we decided to just go for it because it's really hard to scale things like gravity.

304
00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,000
So we're taking our 1,500 pound steel fist.

305
00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,000
I can't wait to see that thing come down.

306
00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:55,000
Dropping it on a car and seeing where we need to go from there.

307
00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,000
And here's how it's going to go down.

308
00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:01,000
This car is going to be towed 30 miles an hour too.

309
00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:04,000
Here, where there's a pressure sensor on the ground.

310
00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:06,000
The car will hit the pressure sensor.

311
00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:10,000
That will trigger the quick release and drop the fist at the perfect time.

312
00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:14,000
And when that fist comes crashing down, it will strike the perfect spot,

313
00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:17,000
the front end of the vehicle with a huge amount of force.

314
00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:22,000
And if this myth is true, we should see that vehicle flip and over in.

315
00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:25,000
This experiment all comes down to levers.

316
00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:31,000
The impact on the edge of the hood should cause the car to pivot over the fulcrum of the front wheels.

317
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:36,000
And then the forward momentum of the car should propel the rear end up and over.

318
00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:39,000
Well, that's the theory.

319
00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:42,000
All right, this is car flip. Get it up to 30 miles an hour.

320
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:46,000
Here we go in 3, 2, 1, go.

321
00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:47,000
We're moving.

322
00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:48,000
Here we go.

323
00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:50,000
Here it comes.

324
00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,000
It looks good. Looks good.

325
00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:54,000
Trigger away.

326
00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:59,000
It just wouldn't be MythBusters if it worked perfectly the first time.

327
00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:01,000
That didn't go well.

328
00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:06,000
But it is MythBusters when the car plows through the barriers.

329
00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:08,000
Oh, not another fence. Go Grant.

330
00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:09,000
Yeah, you'll get it.

331
00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:11,000
And into the fence.

332
00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:14,000
But this is the end of the video.

333
00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:15,000
Yeah, you'll get it.

334
00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,000
And into the fence.

335
00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,000
Ah!

336
00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:25,000
But if at first you don't succeed, replace the car, check the alignment, and try again.

337
00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:27,000
The vehicle is rolling.

338
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:29,000
It looks really good.

339
00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:30,000
Yeah, it's looking nice and straight.

340
00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:32,000
Here we go.

341
00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:34,000
Trigger.

342
00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:36,000
Oh!

343
00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:38,000
Oh!

344
00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:40,000
Oh!

345
00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:43,000
Oh, that's a good dash.

346
00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:48,000
This time the car stayed on course, but the fence triggered too late.

347
00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,000
No! No!

348
00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:52,000
Oh!

349
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:55,000
All right, put that fence in our tab.

350
00:17:55,000 --> 00:18:02,000
We hit it way in the back, which means we have to fix our timing, and hopefully hit the front end of the vehicle.

351
00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:08,000
MythBusters history has shown just how complex it is to hit a target from a height.

352
00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:12,000
And as take three reveals...

353
00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:13,000
Trigger.

354
00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:17,000
That's true for a distance of only 20 feet.

355
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:18,000
Oh!

356
00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:21,000
So close! Just one foot away.

357
00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:28,000
The challenge that we have here is that timing and position are both critical.

358
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:37,000
You have to hit X, Y, and Z, all three dimensions perfectly within milliseconds of each other, or else it all goes wrong.

359
00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:46,000
Getting the fist to drop it precisely the right moment is like scoring a bullseye with the dartboard moving at 30 miles per hour.

360
00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,000
But the MythBusters will find a way.

361
00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:50,000
Next up...

362
00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:52,000
I'm good to go.

363
00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:54,000
Eve on that black sun!

364
00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:58,000
And can the MythBusters finally get a flip head over wheels?

365
00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:06,000
Red paint, stop!

366
00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:07,000
Is it a bird?

367
00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:08,000
Is it a plane?

368
00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:11,000
No, it's a car that's been punched by a hellboy.

369
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:15,000
But could an infernal impact really flip a car?

370
00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:17,000
Triggered away!

371
00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:21,000
So far their methodology has failed to flip.

372
00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,000
So they've got a plan B.

373
00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:27,000
We have two trench plates on either side of the runway.

374
00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:29,000
In between it is a cable.

375
00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:30,000
That is going to be our guide light.

376
00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:33,000
It's under tension, and that will hook in to the towing system.

377
00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:37,000
That's going to guide our vehicle into the crash snow where the fist is.

378
00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:41,000
Three, two, one, hit it.

379
00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:45,000
Here that we are in the channel.

380
00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:47,000
The car gets up to 30 miles per hour.

381
00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:49,000
So it's going straight.

382
00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:50,000
And...

383
00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,000
Oh!

384
00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:57,000
Look at that fist into that car.

385
00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:59,000
Rather than flippin' the lid of the SUV...

386
00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:02,000
That is crazy!

387
00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:04,000
They crushed it.

388
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,000
But the guys are actually encouraged by this result.

389
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:13,000
So I'm standing at the impact point where the fist hit the truck.

390
00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:16,000
And as you can see, it triggered a little bit late.

391
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:21,000
So we're going to go back, adjust our trigger time, and then give them another shot.

392
00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:27,000
And with the trigger reset by just one tenth of a second, it really is now or never.

393
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,000
Talk about recycling here on the show, huh?

394
00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:36,000
Down to their last SUV, this is the final shot at a full-scale flip.

395
00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:39,000
The bar's in the slot.

396
00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:41,000
It's going straight.

397
00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:44,000
Here comes the car into the fist.

398
00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:46,000
Trigger!

399
00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:52,000
Bullseye!

400
00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:53,000
That was nice!

401
00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:55,000
How satisfying was that?

402
00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:56,000
Bullseye.

403
00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:00,000
The fist of fury finally hammers the hood.

404
00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:06,000
But despite hitting the sweet spot right above the bumper in front of the fulcrum,

405
00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:11,000
the car didn't even get rear-wheel elevation, let alone a somersault.

406
00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:19,000
Soon enough, the mythbusters will be making rays while the sun shines.

407
00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:21,000
They've worked out their aiming system.

408
00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:27,000
Now all they need is 500 mirrors, a boat, and a small army of scientists.

409
00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:31,000
And at the shop, those 500 mirrors have arrived.

410
00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:36,000
Along with 500 bronze Mylar sheets.

411
00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:40,000
Ah, that's great.

412
00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:42,000
Look at me, I'm all hammered metal.

413
00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:47,000
Not only are the mirrors three times the size of their previous attempts, they're also double-sided.

414
00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:54,000
So that if the Archimedes era bronze can't create a flame, hopefully the modern mirrors will.

415
00:21:54,000 --> 00:22:00,000
With a mirror production line in full swing, Adam and Jamie can turn their attention to the maritime.

416
00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:05,000
And at Nelson's Marine, they found the perfect target.

417
00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:08,000
This thing is a lifeboat that was salvaged off of a ship.

418
00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:13,000
And when I'm done with it, it's going to be a classic Roman tri-reen.

419
00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:19,000
It's going to take a lot of camouflage to turn this lifeboat into an ancient mariner.

420
00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:22,000
Step one is to give it a more aged look.

421
00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:25,000
And that ought to do it.

422
00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:32,000
The next step is to add a little Roman flavor.

423
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,000
Look into my eye.

424
00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:40,000
Before finally hoisting the target for our mirror militia.

425
00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:42,000
Oh, she rises.

426
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:46,000
Blood red stripes tied ill upon her enemies.

427
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,000
Well, you know, I think our work is done here.

428
00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:51,000
Nicely done.

429
00:22:55,000 --> 00:23:00,000
With the boat seaworthy, it's time to first find a battle-worthy location.

430
00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:04,000
Before trying to rustle up a 500 strong band of brothers.

431
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:05,000
This is perfect.

432
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,000
Our soldiers along the shore here.

433
00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:10,000
Our enemy hordes coming out there on the boat.

434
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:12,000
We got a location.

435
00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:16,000
The first port of call is to get a leg up on the aiming system.

436
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:20,000
In order to help our soldiers aim their beams of sunlight right at that boat,

437
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:26,000
we're going to put up a fence using these rebar posts and this mesh all the way down the line of soldiers.

438
00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:29,000
You can see clearly where it is and is not.

439
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:31,000
You know, that totally works.

440
00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:35,000
Hopefully that's all that's required to set that puppy on fire.

441
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:37,000
With the aiming network in place,

442
00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:41,000
700 feet of fence, all I can think is one thing.

443
00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:43,000
I hope this works.

444
00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:48,000
The mirrors arrive with 700 feet of trestle tables to support them.

445
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:52,000
Now all that remains is for Jamie to get a little bit of light.

446
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:56,000
And a little bit of light to get the trestle tables to support them.

447
00:23:56,000 --> 00:24:01,000
Now all that remains is for Jamie to don his period correct safety gear.

448
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,000
Add them to get into character.

449
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:06,000
That's it.

450
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,000
Here we go.

451
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:13,000
And to rustle up that 500 strong science hungry horde.

452
00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:14,000
Coming up later.

453
00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:18,000
Will this be enough to flip a vehicle?

454
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:23,000
The Mythbusters finally hit the nail on the head

455
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:27,000
and nailed the hood of the SUV with their fist of fury.

456
00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:29,000
But with nothing close to a flip,

457
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:33,000
that could be the nail in the coffin for this myth.

458
00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:37,000
In our first test, we were not able to get a car to flip.

459
00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:41,000
So we've decided to take this myth and test it in small scale.

460
00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:43,000
Then we're going to be running the same test.

461
00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:45,000
However, we're going to be changing a few variables.

462
00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:47,000
We're going to change the mass of the fist,

463
00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:49,000
the speed of the vehicle,

464
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:53,000
and change the center of gravity on the vehicle.

465
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:57,000
By toying with every combination of these vital variables,

466
00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:02,000
they're hoping to find the optimal conditions to result in a small scale flip.

467
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:06,000
And first they feel the need to test speed.

468
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:09,000
With a fist that weighs half the weight of the car ready to fall,

469
00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:12,000
they're starting with the car at its lowest velocity.

470
00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:14,000
Alright, here we go.

471
00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,000
It's blind.

472
00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:22,000
I'm going to have to say that didn't flip.

473
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:25,000
The slow speed failed to even get the back wheels off the ground.

474
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:28,000
So it's time to up the acceleration.

475
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:31,000
More velocity equals more energy.

476
00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:33,000
But will that mean more tilt?

477
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:37,000
Hopefully that extra momentum will cause the car to flip.

478
00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:42,000
Tori puts his finger to the trigger and they try maximum velocity.

479
00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,000
That was a direct hit.

480
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:48,000
We're still not getting the flip.

481
00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:51,000
I think we need to get some more energy punching down on the car.

482
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:54,000
This time the back wheels did at least get off the ground,

483
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:56,000
but only by two degrees.

484
00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:58,000
And they'll need 90 for a flip.

485
00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:01,000
So there's a long way to go yet.

486
00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:06,000
But will upping the ante on the impact make a difference?

487
00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:11,000
Going for full tilt, they're dropping three times the weight of the car.

488
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:17,000
But instead of a tilt, the weight grinds the car to a halt.

489
00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:20,000
So for the next test, they try 200%.

490
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:23,000
Okay, this might be the magic punch.

491
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:25,000
Good shot.

492
00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:27,000
No flip.

493
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:32,000
That net them the highest rear wheel elevation so far of 15 degrees.

494
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:36,000
But they're two parameters down and still miles off a flip.

495
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:40,000
Will tweaking the final variable cause a tumble?

496
00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:46,000
If the mass is down low and far away from the pivot point, it's harder to flip.

497
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:49,000
If you move the mass up away from the pivot point,

498
00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:52,000
suddenly it becomes easier to flip the car over.

499
00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:56,000
So we're going to put some luggage on the top here and see if that helps us out.

500
00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:02,000
It's a tiny SUV capping holiday with 25% of the car's weight in luggage.

501
00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:05,000
Alright, so this is it, the final parameters for our final test.

502
00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:07,000
And everything is in our favor.

503
00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:11,000
But I mean, so far after all these tests that we have done, I think this is asking a lot.

504
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:14,000
In other words, it's now or never.

505
00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:17,000
And it's never.

506
00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:22,000
Raising the center of gravity did increase the tilt to 25 degrees,

507
00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:24,000
but that's nowhere near enough.

508
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:30,000
Even with the combination of the optimal variables, they're no closer to a flip,

509
00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:33,000
which means this is busted.

510
00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:38,000
I'm pretty sure cars weren't meant to flip end over end over end.

511
00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:44,000
So even a big giant punch from a superhuman from hell, I don't think it's going to do it.

512
00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:49,000
So why is it that no combination of these variables seems to be making any difference with our results?

513
00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:51,000
Well, it all comes down to physics.

514
00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:54,000
See, we are applying our force too close to the full film.

515
00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:57,000
Imagine that it's like a seesaw with a large weight on one side

516
00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:02,000
and you apply weight on the other side, but here's the kicker, almost on top of the full chrome.

517
00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:07,000
Now, the force that you need to apply to get the weight to lift from here is almost astronomical.

518
00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:12,000
But the problem is, if you apply too much force, the lever will break.

519
00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:18,000
The flip in physics are busting the myth, but that's never stopped the myth busters before.

520
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:23,000
Next, the Archimedes raid apocalypse begins.

521
00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,000
That's the spirit soldier!

522
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:34,000
The myth busters are testing the presidential theory that more manpower and more mirrors

523
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:37,000
That's it, that's what I'm talking about, that's perfect!

524
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:40,000
could create a solar death ray.

525
00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:45,000
I expect you guys to figure this out, get to the bottom of this once and for all and then report back to me.

526
00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:48,000
Well, as long as they can find the manpower.

527
00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:55,000
Now, you may be wondering, where are we going to find 500 Greek soldiers?

528
00:28:55,000 --> 00:29:02,000
Here's where. 500 middle and high school students have graciously agreed to be our Greek soldiers for science!

529
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:06,000
It's on.

530
00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:12,000
It certainly is. So first up, the briefing on taking down the enemy.

531
00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:20,000
You guys are going to play Greek soldiers defending their home city of Syracuse from the marauding Roman army

532
00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:23,000
under General Marcellus, played by James Franklin Heineman right here.

533
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:34,000
Now, your countrymen, the great Greek mathematician Archimedes has given you a very novel weapon to defend yourselves.

534
00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:36,000
The power of the sun.

535
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:40,000
You are going to be lined up on the water's edge in ranks.

536
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:47,000
Evil Jamie, General Marcellus, will be coming towards you in a boat with the black sun painted on its sail.

537
00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:52,000
If you all were able to aim your sunbeams all at the single spot of the black sun on this sail,

538
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,000
you're going to set his boat on fire and set it on fire.

539
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,000
General Marcellus, Roman's home. Are you guys with me?

540
00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:59,000
I didn't hear you. Are you with me?

541
00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,000
I think they're ready.

542
00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:09,000
They're certainly spoiling for a little ship broiling, so it's time to deploy the troops.

543
00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:13,000
This is crazy.

544
00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:19,000
For the best chance of success, their target will be anchored, and they'll aim at the black sun for two reasons.

545
00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:26,000
Firstly, because just like the small scale test, we want the beams to meet at a focal point to concentrate the heat.

546
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:35,000
And secondly, because with an ignition point of 410 degrees Fahrenheit, the sail is the most flammable part of the ship.

547
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:41,000
With the trireme 400 feet from the shore.

548
00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:44,000
All right soldiers, are you feeling me? Give me a hua!

549
00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:51,000
It's time for 500 bronze mirrors to beam down a Raypocalypse.

550
00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:59,000
In the distance, the enemy ship approaches to my left and to my right, an army of 500 young men and women strong.

551
00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:04,000
With any luck, we will avert this enemy and send them back to their home country.

552
00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:07,000
The suspense is totally killing me.

553
00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:11,000
Okay, Greek soldiers!

554
00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:16,000
Do you want Marcellus to take your city of Syracuse?

555
00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:20,000
Do you want him to own the island of Sicily?

556
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,000
No, it's the gateway to the Mediterranean!

557
00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:26,000
You've got to aim your sunbeam at that boat now.

558
00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:29,000
Get that beam on the center of the sail.

559
00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:37,000
Adam issues the order, and 500 bronze mirrors turn simultaneously to focus their beams on the black sun.

560
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:39,000
Do you see it on the center of the sail?

561
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:44,000
Excellent! How do the beams look to you, Captain Marcellus?

562
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:56,000
Well, I don't see any flames on my boat yet, but these mirrors are really intense, like a row of flash bulbs going off constantly.

563
00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:04,000
But with the bronze 20% less reflective than the modern mirrors, the results aren't lighting any fires.

564
00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:06,000
No fire.

565
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:16,000
And after 15 minutes of concentrated bronze beams, the thermal image shows that the temperature on the sail has only risen by 45 degrees.

566
00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:20,000
So it's time to up the intensity.

567
00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:28,000
Greek soldiers, I need every single one of you to spin your mirrors around 180 degrees and let's get some glass going at this boat.

568
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:33,000
That's it! Now you start to see how easy it is to see your beam, right?

569
00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:37,000
Are you feeling me? Give me a hua!

570
00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:46,000
Quick as a flash, Adam's 500 have their modern mirrors focused on the black sun, but will they prove more powerful?

571
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:51,000
Now that's some brightness. You guys have to hold your beam super steady.

572
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:55,000
It's the only thing that will save your home city. Do you want to save your home city?

573
00:32:56,000 --> 00:33:01,000
That's the kind of energy it'll take, except sun's energy. Point at that boat.

574
00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:04,000
That's the spirit, soldiers!

575
00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:08,000
I'm Greek, not Scottish. I don't know why I'm talking like that.

576
00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:15,000
500 silvered mirror beams on the sail have already resulted in a huge rise in temperature.

577
00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:21,000
They're getting 200 degrees of concentrated heat, but that's not yet enough to ignite the sail.

578
00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:30,000
The intensity I'm seeing from some of these mirrors is just incredible, and yet no sign of fire.

579
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:34,000
Alright, I think you've got to start pulling this boat closer to us, okay?

580
00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:43,000
Keep those mirrors focused. The closer he gets, the hotter he's going to get, and we may just get some fire. That's it. Good.

581
00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:47,000
So, Commander Savage takes one last chance to organize the troops.

582
00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:49,000
Flash, flash, flash! I want fire!

583
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:52,000
And prevent a full-scale Heinemann invasion.

584
00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:55,000
These guys are doing great, and we're not getting fired.

585
00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:57,000
East!

586
00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:01,000
Stay tuned for the fantastic flippin' finale.

587
00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:03,000
There's so much that can go wrong on this.

588
00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:06,000
And can all the President's men take down the trireme?

589
00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:10,000
This is the last chance we have to catch this thing on fire.

590
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:21,000
Okay, so sad to say, but I think that we've busted the myth as it appears in the movie in Small Scale.

591
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:24,000
Well, you guys know what that means. It's time to replicate the results.

592
00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:27,000
Now, normally at this point in the myth, we would replicate it like they did it in the movie,

593
00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:30,000
probably with like a nitrogen cannon and a piston to flip the car.

594
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:36,000
But what if we just used the same physics but changed the design of the car to see if we could get it to flip?

595
00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:39,000
That could be fun, but maybe we can do this in the Small Scale first,

596
00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:42,000
because you saw how many cars we destroyed just replicating the myth.

597
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:43,000
Are you tired of crashing cars?

598
00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:45,000
Never, but we're running out of them.

599
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:53,000
Now, we know that this myth is down to levels, but replicating the movie and dropping the weight on the hood just isn't causing the car to flip.

600
00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:56,000
The force is applied too close to the fulcrum.

601
00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:57,000
But what if we create a lever?

602
00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:00,000
We increase the distance of the weight to the fulcrum.

603
00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:03,000
That way, when we drop the weight, the vehicle should flip and over in.

604
00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:05,000
I mean, it should work like a charm.

605
00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:06,000
That's right, science fans.

606
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:13,000
Instead of Hollywood fakery, Torey's devilish idea is to flip this car using physics.

607
00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:15,000
In three, two, one.

608
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:19,000
Oh!

609
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:24,000
Grant, that looked like a flip to me.

610
00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:28,000
I mean, it didn't do it exactly like the movie, but...

611
00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:30,000
Dude, I think we can move on from there.

612
00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:31,000
This might work.

613
00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:32,000
It was going.

614
00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:36,000
The lever scored a tilt on the car of over 90 degrees,

615
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:39,000
and it's clear that the physics are working.

616
00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:42,000
So after a small scale proof,

617
00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:47,000
it's time to ramp this up and put a massive lever on the SUV's roof.

618
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:48,000
Oh, yeah!

619
00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:50,000
It should be good.

620
00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:52,000
Now this thing is beefy.

621
00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:57,000
It's got to be strong because we're going to be dropping 5,000 pounds on the front end of it.

622
00:35:57,000 --> 00:35:59,000
If anything is going to make it flip, it's this design.

623
00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:04,000
But it's one thing to do it in small scale and another to do it in large scale.

624
00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:07,000
It's quite the engineering challenge,

625
00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:11,000
but with 1,100 pounds of steel welded into a giant lever,

626
00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:13,000
they're ready to put it to the test.

627
00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:18,000
The best case scenario here is that we hit the lever perfectly with our 5,000 pound weight.

628
00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:21,000
The car tips right at the tipping point.

629
00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:22,000
Boom!

630
00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:23,000
It crashes upside down.

631
00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:27,000
And the worst case scenario here, none of us really want to imagine.

632
00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:31,000
For timings off, we might hit the weight, smash the car and have to revisit.

633
00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:36,000
There's a lot riding on this car, and it's not just the weight of the lever.

634
00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:40,000
There's only one car, and they've only got one shot at the car.

635
00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:42,000
They've only got one shot to get this ride.

636
00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:46,000
For once, failure is not an option.

637
00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:50,000
And we have done everything to engineer it in our favor.

638
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:56,000
I think if that weight hits the front end of this vehicle, we're going to see this thing flip.

639
00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,000
I'm a little excited.

640
00:36:58,000 --> 00:36:59,000
I'm a little nervous.

641
00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:01,000
There's so much that can go wrong on this.

642
00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:02,000
I'm anxious.

643
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:03,000
Let's do it.

644
00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:07,000
Okay, this is car somersaults, lever car.

645
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:14,000
Alright, final experiment in three, two, one, go.

646
00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:19,000
It's now or never as the lever car is towed towards its destiny.

647
00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:25,000
Either to be crushed by 5,000 pounds, or to be finally flipped by physics.

648
00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:27,000
Still on the channel, looks like it's going straight.

649
00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:29,000
It looks like it's going straight.

650
00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:30,000
Looks like it's going straight.

651
00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:32,000
Alright, alright, this is it, this is it.

652
00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:33,000
Alright.

653
00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:38,000
Oh, yes!

654
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:40,000
Bingo.

655
00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:42,000
Everything went exactly the plan.

656
00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:45,000
The weight triggering at the right moment,

657
00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:51,000
dropping onto the very front of the lever and tilting the car.

658
00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:55,000
But it was still only a 45 degree dangle.

659
00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:58,000
And of course, there was no flip.

660
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:01,000
Can you believe that?

661
00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:03,000
Oh my gosh, the stars had to align.

662
00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:05,000
True, look it dug into the ground here.

663
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:07,000
Did you see how high the back end got?

664
00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:09,000
I mean, it almost went over.

665
00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:13,000
But the important thing here is that it didn't.

666
00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:16,000
So we tested this myth just like in the movie,

667
00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:18,000
yet we couldn't get the car to flip.

668
00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:20,000
Then we moved on to the ridiculous.

669
00:38:20,000 --> 00:38:24,000
We changed the design of the car, we increased the force of the punch.

670
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:27,000
However, we still were not able to get the car to flip.

671
00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:30,000
I really wish it had, but it didn't.

672
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:32,000
So this myth is busted.

673
00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:03,000
Enemy ship captain by Jamie, a.k.a. General Marcellus.

674
00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:08,000
If there ever was a test to determine that Paula's shields could be an effective weapon of war,

675
00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:11,000
this is that test.

676
00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:13,000
This is that test.

677
00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:16,000
And with the enemy now only 100 feet away,

678
00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:21,000
it's the last chance for Adam and his army to get their solar ray to work.

679
00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:24,000
Alright soldiers, you're doing a fantastic job.

680
00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:27,000
I'd like everyone to take their mirrors off the target briefly

681
00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:29,000
and take a deep breath with me.

682
00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:31,000
Inhale.

683
00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:33,000
Exhale.

684
00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:38,000
On the count of three, I want you all to aim your beams at that black sun

685
00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:40,000
and keep them as steady as possible.

686
00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:42,000
Are you ready?

687
00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:44,000
We're doing this for Syracuse.

688
00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:50,000
In three, two, one, aim on that black sun.

689
00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:52,000
Hold it steady.

690
00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:55,000
Find your beam, keep it centered on that sail.

691
00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:58,000
That's it. That's twice as bright as before.

692
00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:04,000
Right, but to ignite the sail, the focal point will have to reach 410 degrees Fahrenheit.

693
00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:09,000
And with the black sun at 230 degrees, that's a long way off.

694
00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:12,000
Look, he's taunting you.

695
00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:15,000
You're giving this every possible effort.

696
00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:19,000
This is the last chance we have to catch this thing on fire.

697
00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:24,000
Oh, no, he's lobbing, flinging, tennis balls at us.

698
00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:26,000
Keep those mirrors on the sail.

699
00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:29,000
Oh, he just took out one of your great cameraman.

700
00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:31,000
Are you going to stand for that?

701
00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:35,000
Keep those mirrors focused on the sail.

702
00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:40,000
The tennis balls are flying and the beams are focused on the sail.

703
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:47,000
But while 280 degrees is impressive, it's still 130 off a sail ignition.

704
00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:54,000
Okay, Adam, I figure that if this was a real war, you just lost

705
00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:58,000
because I got a whole bunch of you guys and you didn't get one of me.

706
00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:01,000
I think you're right. Why don't you gear down and come on in?

707
00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:03,000
I think we've got to call this one.

708
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:04,000
Yeah.

709
00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:10,000
Yep, after over an hour of beaming the sun's rays onto the boat,

710
00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:15,000
our 500 soldiers have earned themselves an honorable discharge.

711
00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:17,000
One, two, three.

712
00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:19,000
Yes, Boston!

713
00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:22,000
You hear that?

714
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:25,000
I was actually kind of disappointed we didn't set the boat on fire.

715
00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:29,000
We've got plenty of sun. We've got plenty of mirrors to do the trick.

716
00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:31,000
But here's the thing.

717
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:35,000
Mythbusters is about experimentation. It's not about demonstration.

718
00:41:35,000 --> 00:41:38,000
And when I was in the middle of this experiment out on that boat

719
00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:42,000
with all those mirrors shining in my face, I realized something really important.

720
00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:48,000
And that is that they were actually quite distracting and blinding, even painful.

721
00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:52,000
And that right there may be the grain of truth at the heart of this myth.

722
00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:57,000
Good old Archimedes may not have come up with this trick in order to set a ship on fire,

723
00:41:57,000 --> 00:42:01,000
but rather to distract and disorient invading armies.

724
00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:05,000
And that says something really important about the nature of experimentation.

725
00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:12,000
When we experiment, when we try things and we fail, we start to ask why.

726
00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:13,000
And that's when we learn.

727
00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:15,000
Let's go tell POTUS.

728
00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:16,000
Okay.

729
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:21,000
So how'd it go, guys?

730
00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:25,000
Well, it was an awful lot of work, but in the end the myth was busted.

731
00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:26,000
Nice work.

732
00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:27,000
Thank you.

733
00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:28,000
Thank you.

734
00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:29,000
Well, thank you guys for everything you do.

735
00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:30,000
Thanks.

736
00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:31,000
Really enjoyed.