1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,000 That's right folks, don't try this at home. 2 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:05,000 We're what you call experts. 3 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:35,000 Apparently a ping-pong ball can kill ya. 4 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:40,000 Yep, duck, cover, and uh, dance? 5 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:44,000 To tackle a duo of deadly ballistic mysteries. 6 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:47,000 What the f***? Nothing's making any sense. 7 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,000 The team engages in an arms race. 8 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:51,000 It's just a flesh. 9 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:53,000 Of incredible ingenuity. 10 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:57,000 First, in a world record breaking attempt. 11 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,000 This has never been done before. 12 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,000 Wow, it's scary. 13 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:06,000 Jamie and Adamas will ping-pong make a mortal mark. 14 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:07,000 Go! 15 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:11,000 That was an ever-loving smack of a bang. 16 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:15,000 Then Carrie Grant and Tori feel the force. 17 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:17,000 I am your father. 18 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:20,000 In a Sarwar, will an ice cannon 19 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:21,000 What? 20 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,000 really blow the daft invaders away? 21 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,000 What a drama here on the set of Mythbusters. 22 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,000 Who are the Mythbusters? 23 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,000 Adam Savage. 24 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:37,000 I reject the reality and substitute my own. 25 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:39,000 And Jamie Heineman. 26 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:40,000 Bye-bye. 27 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:45,000 Between them more than 30 years of special effects experience, 28 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:47,000 together with Randy Mahara. 29 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:48,000 That is crazy! 30 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,000 Carrie Byron. 31 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:51,000 I'm from Iowa. 32 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:53,000 And Tori Bellachy. 33 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:55,000 It's about to get real. 34 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:57,000 They'll just tell the Myths. 35 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,000 They put them to the test. 36 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,000 First up, Adam and Jamie tackle the tall tale 37 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:13,000 that ping-pong can go lethally wrong. 38 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:19,000 Really? 39 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:21,000 A ping-pong ball can kill you. 40 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:22,000 That's the myth. 41 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:26,000 There's no way it has enough mass to actually penetrate anything. 42 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:29,000 18 to nothing. 43 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:33,000 But what if the ball was going really, really fast? 44 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:35,000 Enough already! 45 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,000 It's an interesting physical conundrum. 46 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,000 Can such a delicate object with so little mass 47 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,000 achieve ballistic lethality? 48 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:46,000 Is it possible to fire plastic ping-pong balls 49 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:49,000 fast enough to result in mortal damage? 50 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,000 So if you're thinking an itty bitty ping-pong ball can kill you, 51 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:56,000 what's your plan? 52 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:58,000 Well, force it. 53 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:02,000 Equals mass times acceleration. 54 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:04,000 Ah, I see. 55 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:08,000 So what this lacks in mass you're hoping to make up for in speed. 56 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:10,000 How fast you think it'll go? 57 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:12,000 A lot. I'm thinking super-sonic. 58 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:15,000 I love it. 59 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:16,000 Where should we start? 60 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:18,000 Human power. 61 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:20,000 Go down, bat a few of these around and see how fast we can make them go? 62 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:21,000 Yep. 63 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:22,000 Sounds great. 64 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:23,000 Whoops. 65 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:27,000 Before the guys attempt to mechanically ramp it up to super-sonic, 66 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:32,000 the minimum that Jamie thinks is required for a lethal hit 67 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:36,000 are less than professional players 68 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:41,000 have given the manual speed test everything they've got. 69 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:48,000 So, Jamie was able to rocket the ball off his paddle at 68 miles an hour. 70 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:51,000 I was able to do it at 75 miles per hour. 71 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:54,000 Neither of those speeds anywhere close to lethal. 72 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:57,000 And I have an idea for getting it to go a bit faster. 73 00:03:57,000 --> 00:03:59,000 Perfect. 74 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:00,000 I'm going to build it. 75 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:05,000 Their hands-on technique obviously failed to fuel a fatal force. 76 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:10,000 So Adam puts together an air-pressure-powered ping-pong pop gun. 77 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,000 Here's how this works. 78 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:15,000 This is what I call a breach-loading pop gun. 79 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:16,000 Here's the breach. 80 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:17,000 There's the ammo. 81 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:18,000 Seal it up. 82 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:20,000 Pressurize from here. 83 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:21,000 Open it up. 84 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,000 Point it in the direction you want to hit with a ping-pong ball. 85 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,000 Release with this high-pressure valve. 86 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:28,000 And bob your uncle. 87 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:29,000 What does bob's your uncle mean? 88 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:31,000 Well, it means hopefully that we've gotten the ping-pong ball 89 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:33,000 to an impossibly large speed. 90 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,000 And with the pressure pumped to the max, 91 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:39,000 the pop gun can handle a modest 95 psi in three. 92 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:41,000 We're about to find out. 93 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,000 140 miles per hour. 94 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,000 Nice for a little device like that. 95 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:51,000 There we go. 96 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:56,000 It's not lethal though. 97 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:59,000 We've got a long ways to go before we get to that point. 98 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:00,000 Yep. 99 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:04,000 As Brody would say, they're going to need a bigger barrel. 100 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,000 Our paddle's got the ping-pong balls to about 70 miles an hour. 101 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:08,000 My little shooter here. 102 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,000 Up to 140. 103 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,000 Wait a second, editors, can you give me a nice shotgun sound effect for this? 104 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:14,000 Much better. 105 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:19,000 Got the ping-pong ball up to 140 miles an hour at 100 psi. 106 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:21,000 Jamie's in my experience. 107 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:24,000 PSI is not the deciding factor for acceleration in an air cannon. 108 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:25,000 It's barrel length. 109 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:28,000 So I think what we need to do is build another one of these 110 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:31,000 with a really, really long barrel. 111 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:41,000 Up next, an age-old ice-cold ballistics mystery from history. 112 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:44,000 Well, I hope you guys packed your thermals 113 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:48,000 because this myth comes from the depths of winter in medieval Russia. 114 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,000 Now, there was a town that was under siege, 115 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:52,000 and they didn't have anything to defend themselves with. 116 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:57,000 So they improvised a cannon and cannonballs out of the one thing they had plenty of. 117 00:05:57,000 --> 00:05:58,000 Ice. 118 00:05:58,000 --> 00:05:59,000 Really? Just ice? 119 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:02,000 Yes, ice, possibly some materials to strengthen it, 120 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,000 but the history books say it was a viable defensive weapon. 121 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:08,000 Well, the good news is, if there's another ice age 122 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,000 when the zombie apocalypse happens, we'll have something to fight them off with. 123 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:15,000 Well, it's really good to be prepared for everything. 124 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:16,000 I'm always prepared. 125 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:22,000 Supposedly, in the ultimate test of backs-to-the-wall improvised ingenuity, 126 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:29,000 the Cossacks crafted a cannon out of the most unlikely material imaginable, frozen water. 127 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:32,000 All right, now you remember a million years ago, 128 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:35,000 when we first started on the show, we tested ice bullets. 129 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,000 And as soon as we shot the rifle, the bullet turned to gases. 130 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:43,000 Which is exactly why I think that before we go and build a full-size ice cannon, 131 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:45,000 we should start by testing the cannonballs. 132 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:49,000 Right, because if the cannonballs can't hold together, then the myth is already busted. 133 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,000 Exactly. So why don't we do this? Let's make some ice cannonballs, 134 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:55,000 we'll fire them out of a real cannon, and take it from there. 135 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:56,000 Good. I like it. 136 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:01,000 The team's previous failure firing frozen H2O ammo... 137 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,000 It just can't be done. You're going to end up with vaporized water. 138 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:10,000 ...means the opening salvo in this Siberian siege story will be the weakest link. 139 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:12,000 The projectiles themselves. 140 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:18,000 We've done a lot of research to see if we could find any sort of historical information on the specs of the ice cannonballs. 141 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:24,000 Now, we've found that they may have been reinforced with fibers such as hemp, wood, and paper pulp. 142 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:27,000 So while Tori and I work on these supplemented cannonballs, 143 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:29,000 Grant's going to work on the clear ice ones. 144 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:32,000 What is going on back here? 145 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:37,000 So using natural materials for structurally stronger alternatives... 146 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:38,000 Sausage. 147 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:42,000 ...the team makes four types of frozen cannonballs. 148 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:46,000 Yeah, there's going to be one strong cannonball. 149 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:47,000 Pure ice... 150 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:48,000 Perfect. 151 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:49,000 ...and ice plus hemp... 152 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:52,000 Ice ball with hemp in it. 153 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:53,000 Sausage and paper. 154 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:58,000 Whoa, that is awesome. Look at how perfect that is. 155 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:03,000 With their projectiles prepped, it's off to a suitably explosive location. 156 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:06,000 Alright, let's bring out the cannon. 157 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:07,000 Alright. 158 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:13,000 Harry Webb has brought out Old Moses so that we can test each recipe for our ice cannonballs 159 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:17,000 and see which one can withstand the blast of a real cannon. 160 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:21,000 We're going to be firing our cannonballs with increasingly larger amounts of black powder 161 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:24,000 to see if they can withstand the pressure. 162 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:28,000 We're starting with pure ice cannonballs and eight ounces of black powder, 163 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:32,000 the minimum amount we can use in the cannon. 164 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:35,000 Don't worry, comrade. They're only shooting ice. 165 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:39,000 How bad could that hurt? We'll use it to chill our vodka. 166 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:43,000 We've set up our grid to collect some data on speed and also added a target. 167 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:46,000 Hey, come on, let's go dance in the battle. 168 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:49,000 So it's all go for test one. 169 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:50,000 We're loaded. 170 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:52,000 Loaded, yay! 171 00:08:52,000 --> 00:09:00,000 Pure ice cannonball and half a pound of black powder with a potential muzzle energy of 20,000 joules. 172 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:01,000 Eyes and ears? 173 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:06,000 Surely it doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of surviving. 174 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:07,000 Wearing three. 175 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:11,000 Let alone doing any damage to our dancing dummy. 176 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:12,000 One. 177 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:15,000 That was awesome. 178 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:18,000 That looked like a very successful hit. 179 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:22,000 That looks like we hit the bad guy. 180 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,000 Ha ha, knocked him down. 181 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:27,000 I am totally shocked. 182 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:31,000 Not only did the pure ice cannonball come out completely intact, 183 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:36,000 but it was traveling a thousand feet per second, or 680 miles an hour. 184 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:42,000 That means if we aim our cannon just a little bit up, we can travel an incredible distance. 185 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,000 It is an incredible result. 186 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:50,000 The mighty power of old Moses couldn't part the frozen water. 187 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:56,000 It stayed intact and hit the target at a lethal 680 miles per hour. 188 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:59,000 Sorry my friend, I guess we underestimated the ice. 189 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:06,000 And such an impressive result means the myth can proceed in its purest form without supplementary materials. 190 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:11,000 The question is, how fast can pure H2O go? 191 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:14,000 We're going to go up to a pound and a half of black powder, 192 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:16,000 which is the most this cannon can handle. 193 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:18,000 Let's see what happens. 194 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:20,000 Three, two, one. 195 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:25,000 Oh yeah! 196 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:32,000 Old Moses supplies the biggest boom he can handle. 197 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:39,000 And with the top speed topping out at an astonishing 1550 miles per hour, 198 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:42,000 the ice has exceeded all expectations. 199 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:48,000 Coming up is bigger, really better. 200 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:51,000 That's big. 201 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:57,000 Welcome back. 202 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:00,000 Jamie the paddle says, 203 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:08,000 we've effectively been attempting to weaponize the 1 tenth of an ounce ping pong ball and make it lethal. 204 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:10,000 So we started out smacking them with rackets as hard as we can, 205 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:13,000 and came up with about 75 miles per hour off the racket. 206 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:16,000 So I built this little baby right here. 207 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:21,000 And at 90 psi we were able to shoot ping pong balls from this at 140 miles per hour. 208 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:23,000 Still not really lethal. 209 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:27,000 But continuing along this theme, we figure if we make something that's a little bigger, 210 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:29,000 my little pop gun, 211 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:33,000 say 20 times this big, we might get some real results. 212 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:39,000 So in an attempt to do some deadly damage, Adam and Jamie are going to extreme lengths. 213 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:41,000 Coming along nicely. 214 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:43,000 80 feet to be exact. 215 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:48,000 And exactly why, well, a Heinemann walks into a bar and says, 216 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:49,000 So why the long barrel? 217 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:53,000 Well as long as the pressure behind the ball is greater than the pressure in front of the ball, 218 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:56,000 the ball is going to continue to accelerate. 219 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:57,000 Perfect. 220 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:02,000 And so the longer the barrel we have, the more time the ball will have to do that, 221 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:05,000 and the faster it will be going when it comes out the far end. 222 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:07,000 There's the target. 223 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:12,000 And with a pop gun pressurized to the max, the shop air can supply. 224 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:14,000 Okay, that's 140 psi. 225 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:15,000 It's time to load. 226 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:18,000 These are some professional grade ping pong balls. 227 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:19,000 And lock. 228 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:20,000 Close the breach. 229 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:21,000 And let rip. 230 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:22,000 Range is hot. 231 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:24,000 Firing. 232 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:26,000 Three, two, one. 233 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:29,000 I just see a hole at the other end. 234 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:37,000 Wow. 235 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:39,000 That is far out. 236 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:42,000 That's a fast little ping pong ball. 237 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:43,000 Wow. 238 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:51,000 Well, our 80 foot long barrel sent this ping pong ball through an inch thick piece of honeycomb cardboard, 239 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:54,000 which in and of itself is not that incredible a feat, 240 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:57,000 but it left a visible mark on three quarter inch plywood. 241 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,000 That is something more than I expected. 242 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:02,000 It certainly banged up the backboard. 243 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:04,000 But what about the crunch numbers? 244 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:09,000 453 miles per hour. 245 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,000 That's a good place to start. 246 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:12,000 Absolutely. 247 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:17,000 So we got this ball going 453 miles per hour. 248 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:19,000 That's really fast, but I have to say, 249 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,000 I don't think it's lethal. 250 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:23,000 Based on what I'm seeing with this ball, 251 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:24,000 it might break a rib. 252 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,000 It might give you a really nasty bruise, 253 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:29,000 but it's not going to kill you. 254 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:32,000 So to make a mortal mark, 255 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,000 they're going to need more speed, 256 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:35,000 more momentum, 257 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:37,000 and a step into the unknown. 258 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:40,000 This has never been done before. 259 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:42,000 It's scary. 260 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:43,000 Cary. 261 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:50,000 Cary, Grant and Tory are testing the ultimate in 262 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:53,000 Backs to the Wall Ballistics Ingenuity. 263 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:55,000 And so far, 264 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:57,000 Don't worry, comrade. 265 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:00,000 It's all go on the fro blow. 266 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,000 Sorry, my friend, I guess we underestimated the ice. 267 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,000 The team has the balls. 268 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:07,000 Now to build the barrel. 269 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:11,000 Now what I have here is a giant cardboard tube. 270 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,000 Everybody okay? 271 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:18,000 Now this is how we're going to make our ice cannons. 272 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:21,000 This is the mold that we're going to fill up with water 273 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,000 and let it freeze so we can make our cannons. 274 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:26,000 So I'm going to build a couple of different sizes, 275 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:28,000 and we're going to see which one is the strongest 276 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,000 to withstand the exploding black powder. 277 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:35,000 Yep, when it comes to cannons, size really does matter. 278 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:38,000 The breach, that is the explosive chamber at the base of the barrel, 279 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:42,000 has to contain and channel the energy of the black powder blast. 280 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,000 So to find the optimal dimension, 281 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:49,000 Tory is building three breaches with four, six and eight inch walls 282 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:53,000 and diameters of 12, 16 and 20 inches. 283 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:56,000 Too thin and it'll explode. 284 00:14:56,000 --> 00:15:01,000 Too thick and the mass becomes structurally prohibitive to move around. 285 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:04,000 Alright, so now that the tubes are filled up with water, 286 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,000 we just need to let them freeze and then we'll have our breaches. 287 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:15,000 And one week later, the ice cold cannons are ready for a refrigerated trip to the bomb range. 288 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:17,000 This is going to be fun. 289 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:22,000 So we now know that half a pound of black powder is enough to propel our ice cannonball 290 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:26,000 at 680 miles per hour, which should give us enough range 291 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:29,000 and enough damage to be a viable weapon. 292 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:31,000 Now what we need to do is work on the breach. 293 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:33,000 God, it would suck if this thing fell. 294 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:38,000 We have a four inch wall, a six inch wall and an eight inch wall. 295 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:43,000 We'll put our half pound of black powder in there and see which one of these, if any, 296 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:47,000 is able to survive the kinds of forces that are generated in a cannon. 297 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:51,000 First up is the 20 inch breach with eight inch walls. 298 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,000 Don't let go. 299 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:57,000 Oh my God! 300 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:02,000 We're surviving the half pound black powder blast may not be the only issue. 301 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:07,000 I gotta tell you, I can see some problems with working with ice. 302 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:12,000 Yeah, I don't know how these guys would have been able to actually maneuver an ice cannon. 303 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:14,000 Mass is a big concern. 304 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:18,000 The larger it is, the harder it'll be to build, move and manipulate. 305 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,000 Plus, even in the deepest midwinter... 306 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:22,000 Loading the charge now. 307 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:29,000 Due to the insulating properties of ice, freezing large amounts of water takes a long time. 308 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:31,000 Alright, we're set. Let's go to the bunker. 309 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:35,000 Meaning the smallest breach that can contain the blast will be the best option. 310 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:41,000 So with the black powder loaded and no projectile, which barrel will survive? 311 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:48,000 Alright, this is 20 inch diameter breach in three, two, one. 312 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:55,000 Well, we just figured out a way to make hail instantly. 313 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:57,000 Giant snow cone. 314 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:01,000 Now that did not go according to plan. 315 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:03,000 That's not gonna work. 316 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:07,000 That is the thickest wall we have. 317 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:10,000 Right now, it is not looking good for the myth. 318 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:13,000 But you know what? Maybe we're using too much black powder. 319 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:20,000 Maybe we need to find the perfect amount of black powder to launch the cannonball and not destroy our cannon. 320 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:30,000 So with a few more freshly frozen 20 inch breaches, the team decides a little less boom is required and not more ice. 321 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:38,000 They're scaling down the black powder from 8 to a mere 1.25 ounces. 322 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:41,000 If the 20 inch breach can handle this... 323 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,000 Alright, our cannon is hot. 324 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:45,000 The myth is surely busted. 325 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:48,000 In three, two, one. 326 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,000 I think it did it. It worked. 327 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:53,000 We shot the plug out without blowing up the breach. 328 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:57,000 It was a somewhat less than big boom, but it's a start. 329 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:01,000 Our breach hasn't exploded. It's still intact, which means it's reusable. 330 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:04,000 We're gonna keep going. 1.75s next. 331 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:06,000 Alright, ice breach locked and loaded. 332 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:07,000 Let's do this. 333 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:10,000 In three, two, one. 334 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:13,000 Woo-hoo! 335 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:19,000 Now that was more impressive, but can a brand new breach contain two ounces? 336 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:24,000 Two ounces. In three, two, one. 337 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:26,000 Oh. 338 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:30,000 Alright, it looks like that was too much. I guess 1.75 ounces. That's the perfect amount. 339 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:34,000 Yeah, two is just a bit too much. 340 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:39,000 So, we've got the ball. We've got the amount of black powder. 341 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,000 We've got the size of the breach. You know what that means? 342 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:46,000 That means it's time to build a full-size cannon and go for it. 343 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:47,000 Later. 344 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:49,000 Okay, well, ooh, f***. 345 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:51,000 The game of moans. 346 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:53,000 What the f***? Nothing's making any sense. 347 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:55,000 Continues. 348 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:57,000 Ah. 349 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:03,000 1. 350 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:09,000 Adam and Jamie have a super-sized ping-pong pop gun, and they're not afraid to use it. 351 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:17,000 But while shooting aesthetically pleasing objects at 450 miles an hour is impressive, 352 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:21,000 they've determined the resulting destruction is less than lethal. 353 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:23,000 So, what next? 354 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:27,000 It might break a rib, but it's not going to kill you. 355 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:33,000 Well, Adam has chance to put a cutting-edge resource called the Internet. 356 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:36,000 It's amazing. 357 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:41,000 It turns out that physics teachers have been getting incredible acceleration out of ping-pong balls 358 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:46,000 without using 80-foot-long barrels, and I think it's a method that we should investigate immediately. 359 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:49,000 Okay, cool. 360 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:50,000 It's working alright. 361 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:55,000 What they've been doing is they've been taking a 36-inch-long tube of PVC, 362 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,000 and they've been putting a ping-pong ball in one end. 363 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:02,000 Then they put packing tape over each end of the tube, 364 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:07,000 and they use a vacuum to draw a full vacuum in that tube. 365 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:08,000 Okay. 366 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:09,000 There we go. 367 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:10,000 Pulling the vacuum. 368 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:16,000 Then when they pierce that side, of course, air wants to rush in to fill the vacuum, 369 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,000 but the ping-pong ball's in the way, so it starts to move forward. 370 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:21,000 Just everyone back off a little bit. 371 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:26,000 There's nothing in its way in terms of air because there's a vacuum, 372 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:32,000 and so it bursts out of this side at something over 300 miles per hour. 373 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:34,000 That's the theory. 374 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:36,000 Here we go. 375 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:39,000 Whoa! 376 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:43,000 Holy s***! 377 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,000 Ha ha ha ha ha! 378 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:50,000 Oh man, that was really good. 379 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:54,000 I didn't expect it to work that well. 380 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:57,000 The three-foot prototype worked scarily well. 381 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:03,000 Popping the sealed vacuum caused a sudden influx of air, 382 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:06,000 and the pressure differential sends the ball rocketing. 383 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:11,000 And after a few technique tweaks... 384 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:12,000 What? 385 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:14,000 One. 386 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:17,000 And a double barrel length... 387 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:19,000 One. 388 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:23,000 Adam measures rocketing at... 389 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:26,000 375 miles an hour. 390 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:28,000 That is mighty respectable. 391 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:33,000 Respectable enough to be the new ping-pong projectile power of choice. 392 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:38,000 Well, the vacuum trick for launching a ping-pong ball out of a short length of tubing 393 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:40,000 is working gangbusters. 394 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:45,000 We actually got 375 miles an hour on a ping-pong ball out of this measly six-foot tube. 395 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:49,000 That is awesome, and this is where I'm going to concentrate my energy 396 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:51,000 to get the fastest ping-pong ball possible. 397 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:53,000 Alright, we're ready. 398 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,000 Based on the theory that bigger barrels are better... 399 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:01,000 It's taking a little longer to pump this out. 400 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:02,000 Yeah. 401 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:06,000 The guys have rigged the vacuum pump to their enormous 80-footer. 402 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:08,000 There's plenty of nerves. 403 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:10,000 This has never been done before. 404 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:12,000 It's scary. 405 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:14,000 High expectations. 406 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:16,000 Here's a world first. 407 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:20,000 And energy waiting to fulfill its potential. 408 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:24,000 Ping-pong bazooka in 3, 2, 1. 409 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:29,000 But it's an unexpected and disappointing dud. 410 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:30,000 That's no good. 411 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:32,000 Here's our ping-pong ball. 412 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:36,000 That wall is where we want the ping-pong ball to be embedded in. 413 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:37,000 One. 414 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:40,000 Something's now working. 415 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:43,000 But it's reaching close to the end of our tube, 416 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:45,000 and then somehow bouncing back a little. 417 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:46,000 Well, not somehow. 418 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:50,000 The air rushes in this tube behind the ping-pong ball. 419 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:51,000 There's a vacuum in front of it, 420 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:53,000 but that air sneaks past the ping-pong ball, 421 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,000 and it looks like it's providing a cushion 422 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,000 that's actually causing it to spring back once it reaches the end. 423 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:01,000 So it's not attaining enough speed or momentum to bust out. 424 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:02,000 One. 425 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:04,000 Nope. 426 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:06,000 Didn't make it. 427 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:09,000 It tells me that we've made this tube too long. 428 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:12,000 Yep, that cushion of air decelerates the ball 429 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:16,000 to the point that it doesn't have the force to pop the packing tape. 430 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:21,000 So as Brody wouldn't say, they need a shorter barrel. 431 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:23,000 Question is, how short? 432 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:24,000 We're going to use the high-speed camera 433 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:28,000 to find out where the ping-pong ball is no longer accelerating. 434 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:30,000 They're going to cut the barrel there, 435 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,000 and hope that that works. 436 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:34,000 All right, speed test. Here we go. 437 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:36,000 Three, two, one. 438 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:38,000 Several tests. 439 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:41,000 And some later. 440 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:43,000 One. 441 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,000 They find the ball, maxes out 30 feet along the barrel 442 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,000 at an astonishing velocity. 443 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:50,000 829. 444 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:53,000 We're well past Mach 100. 445 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:58,000 So a quick reset at the requisite length. 446 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:00,000 Boy, was that tough. 447 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:02,000 And the guys are expecting... 448 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:03,000 Let's do it. 449 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:05,000 The ball to bust out of the packing tape 450 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:08,000 at over 800 miles per hour. 451 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:09,000 What? 452 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:12,000 That would be a supersonic ping-pong ball. 453 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:15,000 Sounded fast, but who knows what that means. 454 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:17,000 What it means is... 455 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:19,000 275 miles per hour. 456 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,000 We're getting less out of a 30-foot barrel 457 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:23,000 than I was out of a 6-foot barrel. 458 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:24,000 Yeah. 459 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,000 A frustrating miscalculation. 460 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:28,000 What the f***? 461 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:32,000 It's only coming out of the barrel at 192 miles per hour. 462 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,000 The shorter barrel means the ball is now accelerating enough 463 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:37,000 that it can burst free. 464 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,000 But the air cushion is still an issue. 465 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:45,000 Even though we're seeing speeds upward of 800 miles per hour 466 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:49,000 inside the tube, by the time the ball leaves the end of the tube, 467 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:53,000 it's been decelerated to well under 200 miles an hour. 468 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,000 And that's not lethal. 469 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:58,000 Yep, so far this myth is misfiring. 470 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:01,000 Failure is apparently the only option. 471 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,000 Back at Big Boom HQ... 472 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,000 Look at that people! 473 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:10,000 We have an ice cannon! Ice cannon! 474 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:11,000 Ice cannon! 475 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:14,000 It's time to get down to business. 476 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:15,000 Cannon goes here. 477 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:19,000 We've come back to Angel's Camp to do the final experiment in our ice cannon myth. 478 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:20,000 100 feet. 479 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:23,000 Now, so far it's been very surprising. 480 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,000 We learned that ice cannon balls actually stay intact 481 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:27,000 and can go the distance. 482 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:29,000 Right here, 150 feet. 483 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:31,000 Let's set up our target. 484 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:33,000 Now, we're going to find out if an ice cannon... 485 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,000 Time to deploy the army... 486 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:37,000 Can shoot an ice cannon ball. 487 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:39,000 It's time to go to war. 488 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:42,000 So this sets up the criteria for our myth. 489 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:46,000 Number one, the ice cannon has to have sufficient range, 490 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:49,000 meaning that it has to fire about 150 yards. 491 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:52,000 Number two, it has to cause significant damage. 492 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:54,000 This is a family show. 493 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:56,000 This isn't quite from a family store. 494 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:58,000 I might have to do a little bit of... 495 00:25:58,000 --> 00:25:59,000 Sensoring. 496 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:02,000 And number three, it has to be reusable. 497 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:04,000 One time only doesn't work. 498 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:05,000 That's better. 499 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:08,000 If the ice cannon meets all three of these criteria, 500 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,000 then we can call the Smith plausible. 501 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,000 What is that they're wheeling out? 502 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:14,000 Ha ha ha! 503 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:15,000 Ugh! 504 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:19,000 What they're wheeling out is a full-size cannon 505 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:22,000 with a five-foot long, 20-inch diameter barrel. 506 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:25,000 It's a very large, big, and long barrel. 507 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:28,000 It's a fantastic feat of frozen engineering. 508 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:33,000 The extreme mass coupled with the lack of structural integrity... 509 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:36,000 What the hell are we doing? 510 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,000 ...is an obvious downfall of the building material. 511 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:41,000 Woo! 512 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:43,000 But once in position and prep... 513 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:44,000 Beautiful. 514 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:45,000 Electric match here. 515 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:48,000 It truly is a sight to behold. 516 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:50,000 Oh, it's beautiful. 517 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:52,000 It's an ice cannon. 518 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:54,000 And whether it works or not... 519 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:56,000 Look at that beauty. 520 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,000 I don't stand in front. 521 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:01,000 The backs to the wall ingenuity is to be celebrated. 522 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:03,000 All right, we're wired and hot. 523 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:05,000 What this really is about is innovation. 524 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:07,000 Improvise weaponry. 525 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:10,000 Taking what you have to make something completely dangerous 526 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,000 and totally cool. 527 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:14,000 Or maybe a little dangerous. 528 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:15,000 We'll see. 529 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:20,000 Remember, do not try anything you are about to see at home. 530 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:24,000 Oh. 531 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:33,000 In our quest to make the innocent 2.7 gram ping pong ball lethal... 532 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:37,000 I came across a technique online using a vacuum chamber. 533 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:38,000 Here we go. 534 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:43,000 That got us amazing speeds on this bench of 375 miles per hour. 535 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:44,000 Holy s***. 536 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,000 So we thought, let's just add some more barrel. 537 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:48,000 One. 538 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:50,000 That's not good. 539 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:53,000 So far, that has yielded pretty much vopkis for us. 540 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:54,000 What the f***? 541 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:55,000 Nothing's making any sense. 542 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,000 But I have, in researching this technique further online, 543 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:02,000 come across a modification to it that might just give us what we're looking for 544 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:03,000 and I'm about to build it. 545 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:05,000 It involves a choke. 546 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:07,000 With this new piece of tech, 547 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:11,000 Adam's bringing a little rocket science to the ping pong party. 548 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:14,000 And to understand what it is and if it works, 549 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:18,000 Adam's first testing a short barrel prototype. 550 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:22,000 Part of this rig is very familiar, but the addition of the choke. 551 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:23,000 Oh. 552 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:24,000 Kidding. 553 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:27,000 After I pull a vacuum, I'll put this on here, 554 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:32,000 thus making this a sealed pressure chamber behind the barrel. 555 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:33,000 Vacumizing. 556 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:35,000 When I feel like I've got a full vacuum, 557 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:38,000 I then hook shop air pressure up into this 558 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:42,000 and the extra 40 to 60 to 80 psi that comes out of here 559 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:46,000 will burst this piece of tape sending everything going, 560 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:48,000 supposedly, much, much faster. 561 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:50,000 I really hope this works. 562 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:52,000 Three, two, one. 563 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:56,000 Oh, oh. 564 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:00,000 Wow, wow. 565 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:03,000 The blast of pressurized air popped the vacuum 566 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:06,000 and added extra energy to the equation. 567 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,000 But just how much? 568 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:11,000 779 miles per hour. 569 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:13,000 Momma. 570 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:18,000 That's what I'm talking about. 571 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:22,000 What Adam's talking about is that after all their hard work, 572 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:26,000 they have a ping pong ball faster than the speed of sound. 573 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:29,000 That's quicker than this. 574 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:31,000 And this. 575 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:34,000 So where next from here? 576 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:37,000 So this is now a working proof concept. 577 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:40,000 We found out about this technology of adding a choke, 578 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,000 like rocket science. 579 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:45,000 Rocket science uses a choke to make jets and rockets work 580 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,000 and we put it here with some pressure behind it 581 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:49,000 and we got 779 miles per hour. 582 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:53,000 So now we're going to go to a bigger location. 583 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:55,000 And what a location. 584 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,000 Don't you wish this could be our shop? 585 00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:59,000 Or do I? 586 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:02,000 Here at fabulous Fort Mason, 587 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:05,000 Adam and Jamie will definitively answer the question, 588 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:08,000 how fast can a table tennis ball fly? 589 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:10,000 One down. 590 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,000 And then test its lethality 591 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:16,000 by supersizing their prototype ping pong pop gun barrel. 592 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,000 That's the last one. 593 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,000 And the pressurized choke chamber. 594 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:23,000 Back in the shop, they've used less than 100 psi 595 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:25,000 to pop the packing tape vacuum. 596 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:28,000 Now they're ramping it up to 500. 597 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:30,000 Ready? 598 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:31,000 Fish? 599 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:34,000 And they want to deliver that massive blast. 600 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:36,000 I hope you don't break my arm. 601 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:37,000 Fast. 602 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:44,000 I think that was pretty good. 603 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:46,000 I think that was pretty good. 604 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:49,000 And with the big beast hooked up and ready for action, 605 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:51,000 here's how it's going to go down. 606 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:54,000 The set up out here should be pretty familiar to anyone 607 00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:56,000 who's been watching thus far, 608 00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:58,000 except for the fact that the barrel's 150 feet long. 609 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:00,000 Behind our vacuum tube, of course, is our pressure chamber 610 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:03,000 and pressure to 500 pounds per square inch of pressure. 611 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:05,000 The whole business is activated by this lever, 612 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:08,000 which we will set off with this. 613 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:12,000 And so, with the air evacuated from the barrel 614 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,000 and the choke ready to charge, 615 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:16,000 Jamie steps up to the plate. 616 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:19,000 Here we go. 500 psi, 150 foot long barrel. 617 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,000 In three, two, one, do it! 618 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:28,000 It is like a magic trick here. 619 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:31,000 I was looking at the ping pong ball and then it just wasn't there. 620 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:32,000 Do it! 621 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:35,000 It wasn't even like I had a sensation of it moving. 622 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:38,000 It just whist out of existence. 623 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:43,000 Which bodes well ballistically until the evidence is found. 624 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:48,000 There's very little of the ping pong ball left. 625 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:51,000 And then examined on the high speed. 626 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:54,000 It's not even left the barrel and it's totally shattered. 627 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:56,000 That's a bit of a problem. 628 00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:59,000 The problem being they need the full weight of an aerodynamic 629 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:03,000 intact ball for maximum mortal damage. 630 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:10,000 The good news is it was going at a speed of 1,086 miles per hour. 631 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:16,000 That's pretty fast. 632 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:18,000 That is pretty fast. 633 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:23,000 Even though our ping pong ball was going at Mach 1.4, 634 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:25,000 which is amazing, 635 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:27,000 I can't say that that was successful 636 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:29,000 because it wasn't a ping pong ball when it left the barrel. 637 00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:32,000 So, we are going to cut this barrel at 20 feet. 638 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:34,000 We are going to lower the overall pressure. 639 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:35,000 There we go. 640 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:38,000 20 foot barrel, 300 psi, semi slow release. 641 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:40,000 We are not sure what's going to happen. 642 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:45,000 Three, whatever does ought to really help inform us about what's going on. 643 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:47,000 Two, so here we go. 644 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:48,000 One, go! 645 00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:58,000 That was an ever loving smack of a bang. 646 00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:02,000 That was a hell of a bang and that ball is rolling. 647 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:05,000 The ball is intact. 648 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:08,000 Wow! 649 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:10,000 Intact and insane. 650 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:15,000 Confirmed on the high speed at a world record 1100 miles an hour, 651 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:22,000 the delicate 2.7 gram ping pong ball is traveling twice as fast as a jumbo jet. 652 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:26,000 As fast as a speeding bullet. 653 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:27,000 Now we are talking. 654 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:32,000 We went from 150 foot barrel to a 20 foot barrel with 300 psi behind it. 655 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:36,000 Now it's time to find out if the 1100 miles per hour we got out of the end of that barrel, 656 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:38,000 I think we are ready. 657 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:40,000 It's in fact lethal. 658 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:41,000 Lethal balls. 659 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:43,000 That's what we are looking for. 660 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:50,000 Adam and Jamie are about to test the lethality of their supersonic balls. 661 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:53,000 But before that, they want to shoot Jamie's lucky bat. 662 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:55,000 It has no idea what's in store for it. 663 00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:57,000 Totally knows what's in store for it. 664 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:00,000 Three, two, one, go! 665 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:05,000 Holy Batman! 666 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:06,000 There's your problem. 667 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:10,000 That is a beautiful, beautiful object. 668 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:15,000 That is an 1100 mile per hour ping pong ball ladies and gentlemen. 669 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:17,000 But is it lethal? 670 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:28,000 In the depths of an 18th century Siberian winter, 671 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:37,000 a desperate siege-bound army used their imagination and their most abundant resource 672 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:42,000 and came up with a working ice cannon. 673 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:51,000 It's been 300 years since this majestic MacGyver-like solution has supposedly worked. 674 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:54,000 Will it take out the fearsome foam army? 675 00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:57,000 It's the moment of truth. 676 00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:59,000 This is ice cannon final experiment. 677 00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:03,000 In three, two, one. 678 00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:09,000 The cannon is still intact. 679 00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:11,000 So far so good. 680 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:14,000 With a muzzle velocity of 200 miles an hour, 681 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:18,000 the cannonball easily covered the 150 yards to the target zone. 682 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:21,000 Look at this. 683 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:23,000 This is the ice cannonball. 684 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:24,000 This is awesome. 685 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:27,000 We took our first shot and we reached two of the parameters. 686 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:31,000 One, we made the distance and our cannon is still in good condition. 687 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:33,000 We can take another shot. 688 00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:35,000 We just didn't get the damage that we were looking for, 689 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:39,000 but for something that hasn't been done in 300 years, it's pretty good. 690 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:45,000 Not just pretty good, the team successfully fired a cannon made of water. 691 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:50,000 But according to their strict criteria, it's not yet successful. 692 00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:54,000 Well, I know the cannonball made it all the way to the guys, 693 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:56,000 but I'm hoping this time it actually does some damage. 694 00:35:56,000 --> 00:36:00,000 So when you're talking about the damage that a cannonball can cause, 695 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:02,000 you're talking about kinetic energy. 696 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:06,000 Kinetic energy depends on two things, mass and velocity. 697 00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:09,000 Now the mass is determined by the ball itself. 698 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:11,000 So if we want more kinetic energy, 699 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:14,000 what we need to do is increase the velocity. 700 00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:18,000 Now under normal circumstances, all you need to do is add more black powder 701 00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:20,000 and it comes out faster. 702 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:22,000 But the more black powder we put in, 703 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:27,000 the greater risk of destroying the cannon itself before we get a lethal shot. 704 00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:31,000 So with the same amount of black powder, add a tweak trajectory. 705 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:33,000 We are hot. 706 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:37,000 Will the ice cold cannon this time be an ice cold killer? 707 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:42,000 This is the ice cannon in three, two, one. 708 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:49,000 The answer is no. 709 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:52,000 Although the ball more than covered the distance, 710 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,000 sailing over the heads of the targets, 711 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:57,000 this myth is on the rocks. 712 00:36:57,000 --> 00:37:01,000 I like this. I'm going to start crushing my ice this way. 713 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:06,000 Mixing fire and ice was never likely to be a dangerous cocktail. 714 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:09,000 But given the severe limitations of the material, 715 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:12,000 it was an incredible effort of ingenuity. 716 00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:17,000 This is the myth that was almost plausible so many times. 717 00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:19,000 It was looking so good in the beginning. 718 00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:21,000 We started out with our ice cannon balls. 719 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:24,000 Fired on a real cannon at high speed. 720 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:27,000 Now we went to the breeches and we found a breech size 721 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:30,000 that would hold a reasonable amount of black powder. 722 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:33,000 We put the whole thing together, built a full-size cannon, 723 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:36,000 brought it out here to face our army. 724 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:39,000 And it was again looking very promising. 725 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:43,000 But unfortunately, on the one that would have caused the most damage, 726 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:47,000 which is the one that sailed over the army's heads and hit the wall, 727 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:50,000 that's the one where the cannon itself exploded. 728 00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:52,000 And for this myth to be plausible, 729 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:57,000 we have to have damage and range and reusability all in one. 730 00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:59,000 And that just never happened. 731 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:03,000 So unfortunately, I think we have to bust this one. 732 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:06,000 And I'm not happy about it. 733 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:11,000 You know what? 734 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:24,000 Table tennis. One of the fastest ball sports on the planet. 735 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:29,000 But surely, it can never be fast enough to be fatal. 736 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:31,000 So it all comes down to this. 737 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:34,000 A ping-pong ball going 1100 miles per hour. 738 00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:36,000 Go. 739 00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:39,000 Versus Flesh. 740 00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:41,000 Which one's gonna win? 741 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:43,000 We're about to find out. 742 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:48,000 For our lethality test, today's human analog will be played by a pork shoulder, 743 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:51,000 otherwise known as a pork butt, 744 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:55,000 because pork has four shoulders and two of them are butts. 745 00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:57,000 It's true. Look it up. 746 00:38:57,000 --> 00:39:02,000 Question is, will the world record-breaking ball bounce harmlessly off the butt 747 00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:05,000 or penetrate with lethal force? 748 00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:09,000 And it turns some potential energy into some actual energy. 749 00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:10,000 You ready? 750 00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:11,000 I'm ready. 751 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:12,000 Okay. 752 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:21,000 Short barrel, 300 psi lethality test with a pork butt in three, two, one, go. 753 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:30,000 That was a blast. 754 00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:32,000 Literally. 755 00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:35,000 But how did our poor sign pal fare? 756 00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:37,000 All right, let's look at the dent. 757 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:39,000 Dude. 758 00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:44,000 There's like flesh trauma going down an inch and a half into here. 759 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:46,000 That's impressive. 760 00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:49,000 I must admit, if you'd asked me beforehand, 761 00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:54,000 I would have told you that I thought the ping-pong ball was going to bounce right off of the pig. 762 00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:59,000 I thought the mass of the two objects were such that the ball really wouldn't do that much damage. 763 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:02,000 I'm shocked by how much damage it did. 764 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:05,000 Now that thing actually penetrated. 765 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:07,000 That's ping-pong ball shaped. 766 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:09,000 That is a shocker. 767 00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:10,000 That would hurt. 768 00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:14,000 But I think we still need to call that this is a non-lethal hit. 769 00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:18,000 It did not penetrate all the way through the flesh and leave some gaping wound 770 00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:20,000 and barring some lucky hit. 771 00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:22,000 That is not a deadly hit. 772 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:25,000 This is a substantial flesh wound, but it ain't lethal. 773 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:32,000 Yep, despite the extreme air pressure and a supersonic ball making the pig fly, 774 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:35,000 the impact did not mortally harm the ham. 775 00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:42,000 So final verdict, a Mach 1.4 ping-pong ball might just be the fastest ping-pong ball in history. 776 00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:44,000 Extremely dangerous, but not lethal. 777 00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:46,000 Not lethal at all. The myth is busted. 778 00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:47,000 Busted it is. 779 00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:48,000 Let's get out of here.