1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:14,780 Limited 2 00:00:14,780 --> 00:00:16,780 I 3 00:00:44,780 --> 00:00:57,100 Are you ready for the vacuum special the Heinemann abhors a vacuum 4 00:01:14,780 --> 00:01:27,300 Oh Jamie I know how much you love riddles and so it's riddle time 5 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:35,420 Here goes what sucks, but does not suck vacuums. That's right. How did you know that so fast? 6 00:01:35,580 --> 00:01:40,380 We just did that opener with model trains and a vacuum cleaner fair enough, okay? 7 00:01:40,380 --> 00:01:45,620 Since it's our last season this is a story that has been on our books since literally we started collecting myths 8 00:01:45,620 --> 00:01:51,540 We've just never tackled it because it always seemed like it was too big for us to tackle go on all right 9 00:01:51,540 --> 00:01:56,740 There's a guy he's tasked with cleaning out one of those tanker cars on a train that holds liquid 10 00:01:56,740 --> 00:02:00,700 And he's using a steam cleaner so he's steam cleaning the whole thing and of course as he's doing that 11 00:02:00,700 --> 00:02:03,060 He's warming it up and it starts to rain 12 00:02:03,180 --> 00:02:10,220 So he caps off the tanker car and walks away the cooling rain causes a steam to contract and as the myth goes 13 00:02:10,780 --> 00:02:20,980 The train car crushes itself from a vacuum exactly that is big those train cars are they're huge. I know 14 00:02:23,620 --> 00:02:30,340 After more than a decade of detonations totaling over 900 explosions 15 00:02:33,980 --> 00:02:38,140 For the first time the mythbusters are tackling an implosion 16 00:02:41,100 --> 00:02:44,620 And to do justice to this impressive long-running record 17 00:02:46,820 --> 00:02:53,660 This is gonna be cool they'll be focusing an entire episode on this one super-sized story 18 00:02:57,180 --> 00:03:00,140 I mean look at this this going to be the biggest productions 19 00:03:00,140 --> 00:03:05,020 We've ever undertaken on this show causing vacuum violence on a massive 20 00:03:05,860 --> 00:03:07,860 unprecedented scale 21 00:03:08,420 --> 00:03:11,660 But first some shop-sized science an 22 00:03:12,900 --> 00:03:19,660 Imploding tanker car how could this happen tanker cars are giant 70 feet long 15 feet high 23 00:03:19,860 --> 00:03:26,900 Six steel casing meant to contain things like fuel even in case of a derailment. How could something like that? 24 00:03:27,700 --> 00:03:28,740 spontaneously 25 00:03:28,740 --> 00:03:35,180 Implode and crush itself. Well if it did in fact happen it had to do with pressure and pressure differential 26 00:03:35,180 --> 00:03:41,420 I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me show you with this metal can if I take this thin metal can and seal it and 27 00:03:41,780 --> 00:03:47,620 Then hook a vacuum pump up to it and start pumping air out. We understand what will happen. It will crush itself 28 00:03:48,460 --> 00:03:53,900 Whoops, but how could something like that happen without the action of an outside vacuum pump? 29 00:03:54,260 --> 00:03:55,900 Let me show you now 30 00:03:55,900 --> 00:04:01,500 I'm about to perform a critical action in this experiment and that is to take a little bit of the hot water and pour it into the 31 00:04:01,500 --> 00:04:06,340 Can because in the original myth the tanker car had been steam cleaned inside and out 32 00:04:07,860 --> 00:04:11,180 Now I'm about to initiate an implosion 33 00:04:11,820 --> 00:04:14,940 First thing I do is cap the can 34 00:04:15,700 --> 00:04:21,700 Now fully capped this vessel was full of steam and air that was heated to its boiling point now 35 00:04:21,780 --> 00:04:27,980 That air is rapidly cooling as it's cooling. They're creating a negative pressure inside the can 36 00:04:28,500 --> 00:04:32,060 Yep, and that's the whole ballgame a difference in pressure 37 00:04:32,900 --> 00:04:35,860 Filling the container with steam pushes out the air 38 00:04:36,500 --> 00:04:41,260 But if the vessel is sealed while it's still hot and then allowed to cool 39 00:04:41,900 --> 00:04:45,780 The steam condenses and the internal pressure drops 40 00:04:46,860 --> 00:04:49,460 Meaning the now much greater external pressure 41 00:04:50,100 --> 00:04:52,100 pushes in on the surface 42 00:04:52,100 --> 00:04:54,100 And that's bad news for the can 43 00:04:54,580 --> 00:04:58,740 Oh, there we go. There we go. Oh, it's actively moving look at that 44 00:05:04,140 --> 00:05:08,060 I'm doing this with my mind in case you're wondering this is all telekinesis 45 00:05:16,860 --> 00:05:23,500 Mine games aside the scientific principle is clearly sound now. It's just a question of scale 46 00:05:24,260 --> 00:05:29,780 We're gonna ramp things up quite a bit to this 55 gallon drum 47 00:05:30,180 --> 00:05:33,900 which not only has steel walls that are many times thicker but also 48 00:05:34,620 --> 00:05:40,060 Structurally, it's much stronger because it's round and it's got these rips so it'll present much more of a challenge 49 00:05:43,340 --> 00:05:45,340 All right now we just wait for it to boil 50 00:05:47,260 --> 00:05:51,300 For this first test, we're just gonna heat the water up until it's boiling vigorously 51 00:05:51,300 --> 00:05:56,180 Then we'll seal it up turn off the heat let it cool stand back and see what happens 52 00:06:03,460 --> 00:06:10,420 Now that it's sealed a pressure differential can develop and the weight begins for the steam to cool and condense 53 00:06:11,460 --> 00:06:13,460 That kind of makes me nervous 54 00:06:13,460 --> 00:06:23,360 If this sturdy steel barrel collapses confidence will be high that the full-scale tank car can also crumple 55 00:06:32,220 --> 00:06:37,020 How long did it take the little cans to crush those crushed very very quickly I 56 00:06:38,220 --> 00:06:41,520 Imagine they're not structurally near as strong. No 57 00:06:43,500 --> 00:06:48,860 I think it's gonna be one big catastrophic kind of funk. It's gonna sound like hitting it with a baseball bat 58 00:06:53,980 --> 00:06:59,180 What's really cool about this is we heard a couple of things and bunks at the beginning 59 00:07:03,980 --> 00:07:05,820 This is killing me 60 00:07:05,820 --> 00:07:09,740 But right now this thing hasn't made any noise in 15 minutes 61 00:07:10,180 --> 00:07:16,220 But what I know is happening inside there is that it's cooling and that steam is reverting back to water 62 00:07:16,220 --> 00:07:19,540 And it's creating low pressure in there, which is pulling the sides in 63 00:07:22,100 --> 00:07:26,180 They're resisting that because of their structural integrity, but at a certain point I 64 00:07:27,540 --> 00:07:31,900 Expect the outside casing to fail and it should be pretty spectacular 65 00:07:36,140 --> 00:07:38,260 Next time we hold the camera up with Mag 66 00:07:40,700 --> 00:07:42,700 You can feel that I 67 00:07:52,780 --> 00:07:58,980 Could feel that in my chest. Yeah, I'm not sure if that's just my heart leaping out of my throat because of that 68 00:07:58,980 --> 00:08:00,980 That was amazing 69 00:08:04,340 --> 00:08:07,180 It was a nerve shredding display of power 70 00:08:08,020 --> 00:08:09,140 Wow 71 00:08:09,140 --> 00:08:12,140 And an ominous sign of the full-scale potential 72 00:08:12,860 --> 00:08:14,860 But Adam isn't ready to move on 73 00:08:15,580 --> 00:08:18,420 Before they can tackle the super-sized tank car 74 00:08:18,780 --> 00:08:22,940 He wants to know exactly how much negative pressure they're dealing with 75 00:08:24,140 --> 00:08:30,060 This time we're gonna do the same test again, but we're going to have a vacuum pressure gauge attached so that we can actually 76 00:08:30,460 --> 00:08:32,460 monitor what that pressure is 77 00:08:33,140 --> 00:08:36,380 We will also be timing how long it takes to cool down and 78 00:08:36,900 --> 00:08:41,900 Monitoring the temperature with an external thermal couple. That's a fancy way of saying thermometer 79 00:08:42,420 --> 00:08:44,420 All right, it's bouncing between 80 00:08:45,020 --> 00:08:50,540 193-195 we'll be logging all of this data as this thing cools down builds this negative pressure 81 00:08:50,860 --> 00:08:54,140 okay timing starts now and 82 00:08:55,140 --> 00:09:02,260 The vacuum gauge is already moving. That's awesome and eventually crushes in the hopes that we'll be able to apply what we learn here 83 00:09:02,700 --> 00:09:10,500 To a full-size thing eventually yep and because the only difference between screwing around and science is writing it down 84 00:09:12,100 --> 00:09:15,620 Adam plots the increase in negative pressure measured in mercury 85 00:09:16,100 --> 00:09:18,700 Right now. It's just a three inches of mercury 86 00:09:19,220 --> 00:09:21,220 against time and temperature 87 00:09:21,380 --> 00:09:23,380 six inches 88 00:09:24,380 --> 00:09:27,500 How much of a vacuum will crush the can is unknown 89 00:09:28,500 --> 00:09:33,700 But quantifying the failure point is the first step to understanding the process I 90 00:09:34,780 --> 00:09:39,020 Like linear data. I'm partial to exponential curves myself 91 00:09:40,060 --> 00:09:45,860 So the more data we gather from this as it cools down and eventually crumples the better equip we are to deal with 92 00:09:46,060 --> 00:09:48,060 contingencies out there in the field 93 00:09:52,860 --> 00:09:55,820 That was just at 16 inches of mercury 94 00:09:58,140 --> 00:10:05,900 These implosions are fascinating. There's a slow intense buildup of the pressure differential and with no warning 95 00:10:07,020 --> 00:10:13,660 But what did we learn? Well, it took eight minutes for the steam to cool which dropped the pressure to minus 16 inches of mercury 96 00:10:14,340 --> 00:10:17,300 Considering that 30 inches of mercury is a full vacuum 97 00:10:17,780 --> 00:10:19,780 That's significant 98 00:10:20,580 --> 00:10:30,180 And that's just repeating a little water in the drum what happens when we introduce a high-powered steam cleaner into the equation 99 00:10:32,700 --> 00:10:34,700 Coming up on mythbusters 100 00:10:35,460 --> 00:10:36,580 Awesome 101 00:10:36,580 --> 00:10:41,300 Not only is this without a doubt one of my favorite small-scale experiments. We've ever done 102 00:10:42,580 --> 00:10:48,140 The story is on track to be the biggest logistical challenge. They've ever tackled 103 00:10:48,140 --> 00:10:50,140 Holy s*** 104 00:11:03,740 --> 00:11:05,740 Pressure vessels 105 00:11:07,860 --> 00:11:09,860 And pressure differential 106 00:11:10,820 --> 00:11:12,820 Yeah 107 00:11:15,740 --> 00:11:20,540 Our familiar themes the mythbusters hold dear to their physics-loving hearts 108 00:11:25,580 --> 00:11:31,780 But in this final season spectacular they're investigating a monumental implosion 109 00:11:32,660 --> 00:11:34,180 This is gonna be cool 110 00:11:34,180 --> 00:11:40,340 Can condensing steam really cause a supersized freight train tank car to crash? 111 00:11:44,540 --> 00:11:48,820 This is great we are gathering data we're learning stuff we're moving forward 112 00:11:51,660 --> 00:11:54,300 16 inches of mercury but 113 00:11:54,660 --> 00:12:00,460 The most important part about this right now is that the original tanker truck had apparently been steam clean prior to the 114 00:12:00,660 --> 00:12:04,500 Implosion incident therefore we're gonna move on to another 55 gallon drum 115 00:12:04,500 --> 00:12:09,300 But this time we're dispensing with the burner and the boiling water and we're gonna steam clean it in advance 116 00:12:10,180 --> 00:12:12,180 Okay, here we go go for it 117 00:12:15,620 --> 00:12:17,620 We're gonna try and get its temperature up 118 00:12:21,100 --> 00:12:25,940 And a lot of steam in them before we cap it and see if we can initiate another crushing incident 119 00:12:31,020 --> 00:12:34,140 Will the high pressure steam cleaner make a difference 120 00:12:35,260 --> 00:12:45,500 All right ceiling at 203 it seems so this crucial component of the mythical mishap has raised the starting temperature by 10 degrees 121 00:12:49,140 --> 00:12:52,340 Consequently it's taking longer for the steam to cool and condense 122 00:12:54,340 --> 00:12:56,780 And the negative pressure to build 123 00:12:56,780 --> 00:12:58,780 16 124 00:13:07,540 --> 00:13:09,540 That gets you every time 125 00:13:11,060 --> 00:13:15,380 That is a heck of a rush that was 17 and a half 126 00:13:16,820 --> 00:13:18,820 There was a greater pressure differential 127 00:13:19,820 --> 00:13:21,820 Oh, yeah 128 00:13:24,780 --> 00:13:27,140 It took twice as long to implode 129 00:13:31,940 --> 00:13:33,940 And appeared more violent 130 00:13:36,340 --> 00:13:43,620 It's actually collapsing a lot more than the other one did I think we put more energy in the system with a higher temperature in the steam 131 00:13:44,620 --> 00:13:51,780 Yep more heat means the steam has more kinetic energy and faster water molecules create more pressure 132 00:13:52,460 --> 00:13:56,180 Yeah, look at that. Look at that. That is completely crushed 133 00:13:56,540 --> 00:14:02,100 So when the steam condensed in the capped container the eventual pressure differential was greater 134 00:14:03,540 --> 00:14:06,740 And the drum took even more of a beating 135 00:14:07,740 --> 00:14:13,220 But behind the scenes problems are afoot, okay keep very quiet 136 00:14:13,220 --> 00:14:17,300 We don't often show you this part of the show, but this is where the magic happens 137 00:14:17,300 --> 00:14:24,280 This is our production office and those are our producers that find the impossible to find stuff that Jamie and I need to use in episodes 138 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,700 This is the team that has found us things like a 747 139 00:14:30,100 --> 00:14:32,100 RPGs 140 00:14:33,100 --> 00:14:37,580 We're calling the FAA to get us permission to drop a car from a helicopter 141 00:14:38,180 --> 00:14:42,860 But right now this might very well be mission implosion 142 00:14:43,660 --> 00:14:45,900 Impossible, but we'll give them a couple more days 143 00:14:49,580 --> 00:14:55,780 So what is it we need exactly well obviously a tank car one that's been decommissioned and yet is still structurally sound 144 00:14:55,780 --> 00:14:57,140 That's hard enough 145 00:14:57,140 --> 00:15:02,580 But we also need a place to implode it that implies tracks to run it on and a location 146 00:15:02,620 --> 00:15:09,780 Remote enough that we can safely control that implosion involving millions of pounds of force and thousands of pounds of steel 147 00:15:09,780 --> 00:15:16,060 Without hurting any people or infrastructure and the two of those together are the reason we have never tackled this myth before 148 00:15:17,540 --> 00:15:21,860 With the production office facing long odds and a short deadline 149 00:15:22,260 --> 00:15:27,340 Jamie and Adam get busy drumming up more data 150 00:15:28,900 --> 00:15:31,980 So what else can these barrels tell us that'll help us out in the field? 151 00:15:32,300 --> 00:15:35,980 Well shape and geometry are critical when it comes to pressure vessels 152 00:15:35,980 --> 00:15:41,820 And so we're gonna build a more accurate scale version of our tank car cylinder and see what difference that makes 153 00:15:42,900 --> 00:15:48,860 Will the elongated cylinder of an accurately scaled tank car crush more or less easily? 154 00:15:49,380 --> 00:15:52,140 To find out Jamie has been busy welding 155 00:15:53,420 --> 00:15:55,420 While Adam whips up some wooden wheels 156 00:15:57,540 --> 00:16:01,500 Almost there and gets back to his special effects roots 157 00:16:03,380 --> 00:16:07,940 There we go, I'm much happier when our experiments look apart 158 00:16:11,420 --> 00:16:13,420 Awesome 159 00:16:14,940 --> 00:16:18,380 As before they simulate the steam cleaning process 160 00:16:19,860 --> 00:16:21,860 Great for our skin 161 00:16:22,220 --> 00:16:30,820 Until the temperature maxes out 200 then they seal it up. All right cap it up and resume their nerve-wracking way 162 00:16:31,780 --> 00:16:33,780 Timers going 163 00:16:33,780 --> 00:16:35,780 Oh, hey, oh 164 00:16:38,420 --> 00:16:40,420 You can hear it boiling Oh 165 00:16:44,420 --> 00:16:47,860 You can totally hear it boiling that's awesome 166 00:16:48,860 --> 00:16:50,860 I 167 00:16:52,380 --> 00:16:58,560 Can't help but think that this would be weaker because of the lack of any bulkheads down the length of it 168 00:17:04,580 --> 00:17:08,100 Okay seven minutes in we're 11 inches of mercury 169 00:17:13,900 --> 00:17:15,900 That was fantastic 170 00:17:19,540 --> 00:17:21,540 Oh 171 00:17:24,380 --> 00:17:26,380 That was fabulous 172 00:17:28,620 --> 00:17:30,620 That is awesome 173 00:17:34,260 --> 00:17:38,740 You were right it was weaker it failed at a lower negative pressure than the previous one 174 00:17:40,060 --> 00:17:42,060 another spectacular implosion 175 00:17:43,860 --> 00:17:48,380 The accurately scaled form failed faster and under less pressure 176 00:17:49,580 --> 00:17:51,580 I 177 00:17:53,180 --> 00:17:57,340 That's just awesome data that suggests this super-sized myth is right on track 178 00:17:59,500 --> 00:18:01,500 Later on mythbusters 179 00:18:03,500 --> 00:18:05,500 The tension Titans 180 00:18:08,580 --> 00:18:11,940 Will the tank car or hosts crack first 181 00:18:18,860 --> 00:18:27,860 For over a decade the mythbusters have traveled to incredible and expansive locations 182 00:18:28,780 --> 00:18:32,940 To carry out their investigations good to see it welcome to the White House 183 00:18:34,180 --> 00:18:39,340 They've managed super-sized logistical operations of massive proportions 184 00:18:42,780 --> 00:18:47,660 But in this final season farewell, they're tackling the toughest of them all 185 00:18:49,860 --> 00:18:55,780 Welcome to Oregon the end of the line for the tall tale of the imploding tank car 186 00:18:58,780 --> 00:19:03,420 After months of prep sweat and fears the team has pulled it off 187 00:19:04,060 --> 00:19:10,700 It's time to stock and roll if it is indeed possible for a tank car to crush itself 188 00:19:11,820 --> 00:19:16,540 Well, then the testing of it is going to be one of the biggest productions. We've ever undertaken on this show 189 00:19:19,020 --> 00:19:23,200 That is the biggest steam cleaner you have ever seen 190 00:19:24,180 --> 00:19:28,500 We need not only the tank car and some train tracks because that's how they get around 191 00:19:28,500 --> 00:19:32,740 But we also need a facility where we can shut down access to those tracks for safety 192 00:19:36,620 --> 00:19:38,620 Let's get to crushing 193 00:19:39,140 --> 00:19:46,100 There's no doubt about the size of the undertaking and the first piece of this giant experimental pressure puzzle is 194 00:19:46,620 --> 00:19:48,620 bringing the heat 195 00:19:48,860 --> 00:19:54,940 This boiler is the heart of our experiment. This is a 2 million BTU fire tube style boiler 196 00:19:54,940 --> 00:20:00,060 Now what's in here is a series of tubes surrounded with water and obviously is going to heat up that water 197 00:20:00,060 --> 00:20:05,260 And it's going to create a head of steam that comes up about here and that steam is going to be up to around 198 00:20:06,140 --> 00:20:08,140 360 degrees Fahrenheit 199 00:20:08,220 --> 00:20:10,220 That's what's going to heat up our tank car 200 00:20:11,420 --> 00:20:14,540 And here's why the steamer is packing so much punch 201 00:20:15,100 --> 00:20:21,900 Gonna go get some tank cars. It was almost impossible to locate but in a coupling made in geek heaven 202 00:20:23,660 --> 00:20:29,980 Adam hooks up with the super-sized star of the show. I totally get the whole thing about model trains 203 00:20:32,140 --> 00:20:37,660 How cool is that I had a whole bunch when I was in high school hello ladies 204 00:20:38,380 --> 00:20:40,380 This 205 00:20:43,740 --> 00:20:47,260 Is our experimental baby our tank car isn't it beautiful? 206 00:20:48,460 --> 00:20:55,580 67 feet long 10 feet diameter it holds almost 30 000 gallons of liquid unless you think that the shell is thin 207 00:20:55,820 --> 00:20:57,820 It's actually almost half an inch thick 208 00:20:58,380 --> 00:21:01,580 It's the biggest single prop ever used on myth busters 209 00:21:02,300 --> 00:21:04,300 weighing in at 210 00:21:04,380 --> 00:21:07,260 67 000 pounds made from cold rolled steel 211 00:21:07,980 --> 00:21:11,260 It seems impossible that it could crush like a tin can 212 00:21:12,700 --> 00:21:14,700 To check its interior integrity 213 00:21:15,260 --> 00:21:17,260 Adam pulls the short straw 214 00:21:18,460 --> 00:21:20,860 This is not for people who don't like confined spaces 215 00:21:22,140 --> 00:21:25,100 You might think that crawling into one of these tank cars is a simple matter 216 00:21:25,180 --> 00:21:28,380 But they transport all manner of different fluids and liquids 217 00:21:28,380 --> 00:21:33,020 Which means there can be all manner of different gases in that tank car that could asphyxiate you 218 00:21:33,500 --> 00:21:35,100 Oh, man 219 00:21:35,100 --> 00:21:37,100 You have no idea how hot it is in here 220 00:21:38,060 --> 00:21:42,620 There's an entire set of safety procedures. We had to review before climbing down in there 221 00:21:42,780 --> 00:21:46,860 I'm wearing a safety harness lest I become unconscious so I can be pulled back out 222 00:21:47,740 --> 00:21:49,740 The walls are 101 degrees 223 00:21:50,700 --> 00:21:54,060 A quick recce and adam's nervous, but satisfied 224 00:21:54,700 --> 00:21:56,220 It's just a shell 225 00:21:56,220 --> 00:21:58,220 There's no internal gusting at all 226 00:21:58,700 --> 00:22:00,700 And i'm talking quietly 227 00:22:01,100 --> 00:22:04,780 Because this thing is a freaking echo chamber if someone dropped a wrench up there 228 00:22:05,420 --> 00:22:07,420 I feel like my eardrums are bleeding 229 00:22:11,340 --> 00:22:14,460 It's loud but sound too sound 230 00:22:14,700 --> 00:22:15,740 Oh, man 231 00:22:15,740 --> 00:22:22,460 To ensure they can form a pressure vessel the team bypasses the safety features by sealing the release valves 232 00:22:23,420 --> 00:22:24,620 What's next? 233 00:22:24,620 --> 00:22:29,260 Remember this myth is about heating the tank car up and then it happens to rain and cools it down 234 00:22:29,660 --> 00:22:33,820 So this thing right here is called a monitor and it's a spray nozzle 235 00:22:34,060 --> 00:22:39,740 We're going to try to adjust the angle and the pressure in such a way more this way that we can get as much 236 00:22:40,060 --> 00:22:42,780 Of an even coverage of the tank car as possible 237 00:22:43,900 --> 00:22:46,060 I'm happy with that. That's a perfect rainstorm 238 00:22:48,380 --> 00:22:53,420 This is a giant production and one of the key things we want to monitor is the temperature of our tank 239 00:22:53,660 --> 00:22:58,460 Behind each one of these windows, we're going to have a thermometer that thermometer will go to a wire 240 00:22:58,460 --> 00:23:02,540 Which will go out there to the tank car where it will be attached to a thermocouple 241 00:23:03,420 --> 00:23:05,420 Let's hook it up 242 00:23:06,540 --> 00:23:07,660 Cool 243 00:23:07,660 --> 00:23:12,460 In addition to temperature the second crucial parameter is the internal pressure 244 00:23:12,940 --> 00:23:14,940 This is officially the biggest thing i've ever drilled into 245 00:23:15,900 --> 00:23:19,260 Adam plums the steel wall and inserts a vacuum gauge 246 00:23:20,460 --> 00:23:23,580 We just turn this tank car into an experimental vessel 247 00:23:24,380 --> 00:23:26,940 And it's primed for the first step of the test 248 00:23:28,140 --> 00:23:30,620 The colossal steam cleaner is fired up 249 00:23:31,580 --> 00:23:33,820 And adam is struggling to take it all in 250 00:23:35,260 --> 00:23:37,260 I'm having one of those moments right now 251 00:23:37,660 --> 00:23:38,620 rabid 252 00:23:38,620 --> 00:23:43,180 excitement about what is about to take place at the same time it's combined with 253 00:23:43,820 --> 00:23:47,740 A complete disbelief about what we've got set up here. I mean look at this 254 00:23:47,820 --> 00:23:51,020 We've locked down two and a half miles of train track a mile of road 255 00:23:51,260 --> 00:23:54,060 We've got about 35 guys and one two three four five 256 00:23:54,780 --> 00:24:00,540 Dozen trucks to support the implosion of that giant 70 foot long tanker car 257 00:24:01,580 --> 00:24:03,580 This is gonna be cool 258 00:24:08,860 --> 00:24:16,540 So this myth starts with the lonely train car that's just delivered its payload and it's sitting here on the tracks waiting to be cleaned 259 00:24:17,500 --> 00:24:22,300 The cleaning comes in the form of steam go ahead and open up the valve and start putting steam in the tank 260 00:24:22,380 --> 00:24:24,380 About opening 261 00:24:25,900 --> 00:24:32,220 Piping hot at over 300 degrees its goal is to remove every last trace of residue from the previous cargo 262 00:24:38,380 --> 00:24:40,860 It's happening. Yeah, it's already rising 263 00:24:43,820 --> 00:24:50,460 Unfortunately once the service guys had done their job they closed every hatch and valve on the tank car 264 00:24:51,420 --> 00:24:56,460 Something they should never have done. It's a good take a while. Yeah a lot of mass to heat up. Yeah 265 00:24:57,580 --> 00:25:04,380 Even more unfortunately it then begins to rain and the completely sealed tank car full of highly expanded steam begins cooling 266 00:25:04,860 --> 00:25:10,220 Rapidly precipitously dropping the interior pressure. And then what happens next is the whole tank car 267 00:25:10,700 --> 00:25:12,700 Collapses in on itself 268 00:25:14,380 --> 00:25:17,260 That was that gonna happen when we replicate all of those story points 269 00:25:17,420 --> 00:25:21,980 We don't know that's why we're testing it, but we will be monitoring everything from the safety of our bunker here 270 00:25:26,780 --> 00:25:31,340 Well, we've been heating our tank car now for about three hours and its temperature has been steadily rising 271 00:25:31,340 --> 00:25:37,020 And it's very close to our small scale temperature of over 200 degrees. That's great any minute now 272 00:25:37,020 --> 00:25:42,380 We're gonna call it. I'm gonna suit up. I'll cap it get the heck out of its way and hopefully we'll watch it crush itself 273 00:25:43,100 --> 00:25:45,100 Here we go 274 00:25:46,060 --> 00:25:48,540 This is it I gotta climb on top of that thing 275 00:25:49,820 --> 00:25:51,820 Almost 210 degrees 276 00:25:52,300 --> 00:25:54,780 Shut the top man way then I shut the bottom valve 277 00:25:56,220 --> 00:26:00,460 Adam enters the exclusion zone alone and climbs the boiling hot steel 278 00:26:05,820 --> 00:26:11,340 He has to be fast and careful while he creates a 60 ton pressure vessel 279 00:26:11,900 --> 00:26:14,940 Okay, we're sealed up here on climbing down 280 00:26:18,300 --> 00:26:20,300 You're closing the valve now 281 00:26:20,700 --> 00:26:24,620 Valve is closed. I am de-assing the area mission accomplished 282 00:26:24,940 --> 00:26:29,180 It's capped and the countdown to catastrophe begins. I went smothering 283 00:26:30,460 --> 00:26:32,460 Once I get back in the bunker 284 00:26:32,460 --> 00:26:34,460 It's gonna be time to make it rain 285 00:26:34,540 --> 00:26:39,820 Yep, when things cool down everything is right on track for the mythical implosion 286 00:26:40,380 --> 00:26:43,900 All right fire department. Let's make it rain copy making it rain 287 00:26:49,500 --> 00:26:53,020 Oh perfect coming up 288 00:26:54,140 --> 00:27:03,420 Oh, did you hear that this tank car tall tail terminates with a titanic test of the team's ingenuity and nerves 289 00:27:04,780 --> 00:27:06,780 Man that thing's so friggin big 290 00:27:10,540 --> 00:27:20,060 It's been a monumental effort. All right fire department. Let's make it rain 291 00:27:21,820 --> 00:27:27,100 But the team finally has all the many parts of this mythical freight train mishap in place 292 00:27:28,780 --> 00:27:31,420 Cue the physics five inches of mercury 293 00:27:34,060 --> 00:27:36,060 Six 294 00:27:36,060 --> 00:27:37,340 Nice 295 00:27:37,340 --> 00:27:39,340 Climbing steadily. That's what we wanted to see 296 00:27:39,580 --> 00:27:46,140 The rain cools the steel the steam inside begins to condense and the negative pressure rises 297 00:27:48,940 --> 00:27:51,260 That is climbing a lot faster than our small scale 298 00:27:51,900 --> 00:27:57,180 The small scale car crushed at 11 inches the single oil drum at 17 299 00:27:57,500 --> 00:28:05,180 But a full-scale tank car implosion has never been recorded the mythbusters are once again in unknown 300 00:28:05,580 --> 00:28:08,060 Scientific territory 12 and a half. Oh 301 00:28:10,380 --> 00:28:14,700 Oh, I'm psyched the pressure differential 13 302 00:28:18,860 --> 00:28:25,420 Means there is already more than 1.5 million pounds of pressure pushing on the exterior surface 303 00:28:26,860 --> 00:28:32,380 Man that makes me nervous that thing's so friggin big. I know and it keeps on rising 304 00:28:33,340 --> 00:28:35,340 17 and a half 305 00:28:37,740 --> 00:28:44,220 We've now exceeded our small scale pressures. It's ramping up just like the suspense. Come on, baby 306 00:28:44,780 --> 00:28:46,940 19 and a half and the tension 307 00:28:47,900 --> 00:28:49,820 21 308 00:28:49,820 --> 00:28:51,820 Wow 309 00:28:53,980 --> 00:28:58,700 Man it's nerve-wracking it is and I know that the like the moment I blink it's gonna happen 310 00:29:00,060 --> 00:29:02,060 23 311 00:29:02,140 --> 00:29:04,140 Damn 312 00:29:09,580 --> 00:29:11,580 25 and a half 313 00:29:12,380 --> 00:29:14,380 Holy s*** 314 00:29:15,660 --> 00:29:17,900 15 minutes after sealing in the steam 315 00:29:18,780 --> 00:29:23,180 The negative internal pressure is almost as low as it can possibly go 316 00:29:24,700 --> 00:29:26,700 26 and a quarter 317 00:29:26,860 --> 00:29:35,100 Degraze is almost a full vacuum that that occurs at just under 30 inches of mercury and still there's no sign of an implosion 318 00:29:36,700 --> 00:29:38,700 Why they make these things tough, don't they? 319 00:29:39,820 --> 00:29:41,820 As the minutes tick by 320 00:29:41,820 --> 00:29:46,380 This is killing me right 18 and a half minutes the negative pressure plateaus 321 00:29:47,100 --> 00:29:49,100 26 and 5 8 322 00:29:51,340 --> 00:29:55,580 And for the first time the guys think the tank car might not collapse 323 00:29:56,140 --> 00:29:58,540 Remember folks science can be boring 324 00:30:00,700 --> 00:30:05,180 Look everything is working here exactly as we plan our methodology is dead on the money 325 00:30:10,140 --> 00:30:13,820 We got a superheated tanker that was steam cleaned that we've now been 326 00:30:14,140 --> 00:30:21,260 Reigning on and the pressure is built far beyond what I would have considered to be a fatal catastrophic pressure to this tanker car 327 00:30:21,500 --> 00:30:24,460 And yet it's holding on at 27 inches of mercury 328 00:30:24,940 --> 00:30:27,660 This is astonishing. This is a very durable 329 00:30:28,460 --> 00:30:30,460 Durable item 330 00:30:31,820 --> 00:30:33,820 It hasn't budged 331 00:30:34,540 --> 00:30:37,740 Okay, folks, we're gonna wait for it to be an even hour 332 00:30:38,940 --> 00:30:41,420 And if we haven't seen any movement on the needle by then 333 00:30:41,980 --> 00:30:48,620 We'll call it the pressure leveled off at 27 and hasn't budged and neither has the tank car 334 00:30:49,180 --> 00:30:53,660 So when they hit the hour here we go, they reluctantly concede defeat 335 00:30:54,460 --> 00:30:56,620 Hold the plug and let the air back in 336 00:31:00,300 --> 00:31:05,580 Hey nice work on the rig everything we did work beautifully, but you wouldn't break 337 00:31:06,380 --> 00:31:08,380 It's not our fault 338 00:31:09,340 --> 00:31:13,900 Technically what we did to this car to try and make it collapse with a vacuum was flawless 339 00:31:17,820 --> 00:31:22,300 Oh, it's like the train car is peeing on me out of spite 340 00:31:24,620 --> 00:31:28,460 Got the tank really hot. We'd sealed it up really well 341 00:31:29,260 --> 00:31:35,500 We pulled darn near a perfect vacuum on it and yet nothing we did to it made it collapse 342 00:31:35,820 --> 00:31:36,700 so 343 00:31:36,700 --> 00:31:39,900 It turns out these cars are actually built pretty darn good, but 344 00:31:40,860 --> 00:31:42,220 You know what? 345 00:31:42,220 --> 00:31:44,620 We're not done yet. We've got back on the phone 346 00:31:44,700 --> 00:31:50,860 We've ordered another tank car as if the first one wasn't difficult enough now. Why are we going to such extreme lengths here? 347 00:31:51,260 --> 00:31:53,260 It's because despite evidence to the contrary 348 00:31:53,260 --> 00:31:59,740 We don't think this myth is busted yet. Look the car that mythically imploded might have been damaged in some way that we couldn't see 349 00:31:59,740 --> 00:32:05,100 It might have been corroded on the inside some way in which it was made more susceptible to crumpling 350 00:32:05,340 --> 00:32:10,780 So we found another one and although it'll take us all night for you. It'll be a matter of seconds 351 00:32:15,420 --> 00:32:17,420 Yeah, let's crush some stuff 352 00:32:18,380 --> 00:32:20,860 With their more corroded car in place 353 00:32:21,100 --> 00:32:26,700 They're removing the steam and rain from the equation and taking a shortcut to pulling the pressure 354 00:32:27,740 --> 00:32:31,420 This time around though, we're going to use this big-ass industrial vacuum 355 00:32:33,580 --> 00:32:36,940 It'll pull exactly the same vacuum that we got with the steam 356 00:32:38,140 --> 00:32:42,300 Is there anything duct tape can't do but it's going to do it in a fraction of the time 357 00:32:42,300 --> 00:32:48,220 Yep, the goal is to match the realistic negative pressure achieved using condensed steam 358 00:32:48,860 --> 00:32:53,820 With this giant vacuum cleaner. All right, so you ready? I'm ready. All right 359 00:32:53,820 --> 00:33:01,260 So we have our second more decrepit tanker car sitting over there on the track and our giant vacuum hub is just starting up now 360 00:33:04,060 --> 00:33:06,060 That is a beautiful piece of equipment 361 00:33:07,180 --> 00:33:08,620 It's going to pull a vacuum 362 00:33:08,620 --> 00:33:13,260 It's going to pull the same exact vacuum we pulled with the boilers and the pressure and the cooling etc 363 00:33:13,900 --> 00:33:18,380 I do not want to take my eyes off of it. Just want to watch it do its thing 364 00:33:19,660 --> 00:33:21,660 Except it should do it in a fraction of the time 365 00:33:22,700 --> 00:33:25,020 I want it. It's an ocean. There's open 366 00:33:27,020 --> 00:33:29,020 That's what I want 367 00:33:29,900 --> 00:33:31,900 The giant vacuum pump is fast 368 00:33:32,860 --> 00:33:40,620 It's rapidly removing air and after just a few minutes it's already approaching the maximum negative pressure it can pull 369 00:33:41,500 --> 00:33:43,500 We got a negative 25 370 00:33:44,300 --> 00:33:48,140 Negative 25 will the more corroded drums succumb? 371 00:33:52,140 --> 00:33:59,180 Only at 27 holding at 27 inches of mercury that's exactly where we were yesterday. Yeah 372 00:34:02,220 --> 00:34:14,540 To celebrate their final season this is the myth busters number crunching countdown 373 00:34:17,260 --> 00:34:22,780 When it comes to supersize stories, it's the stats that reflect the scale 374 00:34:23,980 --> 00:34:30,620 Here's a hit list of the biggest and best the rocket sled hits 750 miles per hour 375 00:34:32,860 --> 00:34:41,020 This was shot at 70,000 frames a second a car was dropped from 4,000 feet 376 00:34:41,740 --> 00:34:45,500 The biggest boom was 5,000 pounds of anvil 377 00:34:47,500 --> 00:34:55,040 And adam joined the 13 mile high club when he flew to the edge of space. This is not a bad way to spend your day 378 00:35:02,460 --> 00:35:10,460 It's been a long and winding train track, but you wouldn't break 379 00:35:11,900 --> 00:35:20,380 And the team is about to find out once and for all if a steam clean an accident can cause a giant steel tank car to crush 380 00:35:21,900 --> 00:35:24,940 They've reached the same negative pressure they managed with steam 381 00:35:25,820 --> 00:35:28,220 Holding at 27 inches of mercury 382 00:35:29,180 --> 00:35:33,820 And several million pounds of force are pushing against the half inch thick steel 383 00:35:34,460 --> 00:35:36,060 squeezing 384 00:35:36,060 --> 00:35:38,060 squashing and pressing 385 00:35:41,180 --> 00:35:45,820 But the minutes tick by and it remains resolutely intact 386 00:35:48,140 --> 00:35:50,140 Still holding at 27 387 00:35:50,940 --> 00:35:52,940 Unlike their small scale 388 00:35:53,340 --> 00:35:55,340 It may not be imploding 389 00:35:55,820 --> 00:35:58,140 But it is an astonishing result 390 00:35:58,940 --> 00:36:03,100 You know as frustrating as this is to not see the train car collapse 391 00:36:03,180 --> 00:36:07,100 this is looking like it's a very valid myth because 392 00:36:07,980 --> 00:36:13,500 Everybody that we talked to swore up and down that oh no problem. This thing's gonna collapse 393 00:36:15,900 --> 00:36:19,500 That's it. That's an hour. Let's cut it turn it off 394 00:36:20,140 --> 00:36:25,900 So it just goes to show you gotta test things 395 00:36:29,340 --> 00:36:31,840 That's the sound of disappointment ladies and gentlemen 396 00:36:35,980 --> 00:36:44,380 These tank cars are actually pretty tough little bastards, but as always we have one more trick up our sleeve 397 00:36:44,540 --> 00:36:49,980 Yep, this has been such an ordeal. There is no way we are just gonna leave it here 398 00:36:50,380 --> 00:36:55,740 We are now going to arrange for our tanker car to encounter a bit of a shall we say 399 00:36:56,380 --> 00:37:02,300 Accident all we need is a crane to drop something big and heavy on our tanker car 400 00:37:02,460 --> 00:37:06,940 And luckily it turns out that the sheriff who's been helping us out has access to a crane 401 00:37:07,660 --> 00:37:09,660 That is how we 402 00:37:09,660 --> 00:37:15,420 Are going to use that to lift this about 30 feet above that and then we're gonna drop it 403 00:37:16,540 --> 00:37:19,340 Hopefully it'll leave a nice big dent in our tank car 404 00:37:19,900 --> 00:37:24,700 And then when we pull a vacuum on it that dent will cause the whole thing to buckle up 405 00:37:25,180 --> 00:37:28,380 Kind of like pulling a single card out of a house of cards 406 00:37:29,100 --> 00:37:31,100 At least that's what we hope 407 00:37:31,180 --> 00:37:37,500 Yep, it's an extremely unlikely series of events, but it is possible. That looks good to me, jamie 408 00:37:37,900 --> 00:37:45,500 After their simulated collision, they'll pull a final vacuum to recreate the steam cleaning and see if that causes a crumple 409 00:37:47,180 --> 00:37:51,580 This is intense dropping 3200 pounds on a tank car 410 00:37:52,540 --> 00:37:56,300 Something we didn't expect to be doing in this episode three two one 411 00:38:02,220 --> 00:38:04,220 Bullseye 412 00:38:08,060 --> 00:38:10,060 That's ideal 413 00:38:12,860 --> 00:38:20,220 With their completely accidental damage done it's deja vu all over again. All right Dean go ahead and start the vacuum 414 00:38:21,500 --> 00:38:25,980 The vacuum pump fires up start sucking and the pressure plunges 415 00:38:26,540 --> 00:38:30,140 Will the kink in the steel compromise the structural integrity? 416 00:38:32,700 --> 00:38:34,940 10 minutes 21 inches of mercury 417 00:38:37,500 --> 00:38:41,260 That is a hell of a vacuum pump right there. Yeah 418 00:38:41,820 --> 00:38:45,820 It's also a hell of a dent. It's a perfect dent we made. Yeah 419 00:38:47,420 --> 00:38:49,420 23 23 inches 420 00:38:53,260 --> 00:38:55,260 Come on 421 00:38:56,220 --> 00:38:58,220 23 23 inches 422 00:39:02,620 --> 00:39:04,620 Come on 423 00:39:06,460 --> 00:39:08,460 Come on you melon farmer 424 00:39:20,620 --> 00:39:22,620 Finally 425 00:39:23,580 --> 00:39:26,380 23 inches of mercury holy cow 426 00:39:35,180 --> 00:39:38,700 This is all about the geometry just like with a chicken's egg 427 00:39:39,180 --> 00:39:42,780 It's really quite strong and you can't break them in your hand if you squeeze them 428 00:39:43,180 --> 00:39:46,620 But all it takes is one little crack on the side of the frying pan 429 00:39:46,860 --> 00:39:52,940 And you've got a dent just like what we put in this tank car and the whole thing unravels 430 00:40:01,660 --> 00:40:05,740 Man look at that that is beautiful 431 00:40:09,740 --> 00:40:15,900 I've never seen anything quite like that something that large and sturdy being deformed like that 432 00:40:16,700 --> 00:40:24,220 It's kind of hard to take it in 433 00:40:25,020 --> 00:40:30,940 Really is it doesn't seem right somehow. I'm getting a kind of a scale vertigo. Yeah. Yeah 434 00:40:31,660 --> 00:40:33,660 Oh 435 00:40:44,140 --> 00:40:50,540 We had pulled a nearly full vacuum on two 67 foot long tank cars and achieved 436 00:40:51,340 --> 00:40:53,340 Bupkus nothing 437 00:40:53,660 --> 00:41:00,060 In desperation, we dropped a 3200 pound concrete block on it and left a huge dent 438 00:41:00,380 --> 00:41:06,620 Not a recommended technique for proper care and feeding of tank car and yet it seemed to do the trick because at 439 00:41:07,420 --> 00:41:10,220 23 inches of mercury that tank car folded 440 00:41:11,500 --> 00:41:14,060 Like jamie's proverbial house of cards like this 441 00:41:15,500 --> 00:41:18,700 Here wait play my sound effect over the actual thing watch this 442 00:41:21,900 --> 00:41:25,580 Just like that it was beautiful 443 00:41:25,900 --> 00:41:32,140 It looks like a big plastic bag that got deflated or something, but it's friggin 444 00:41:32,780 --> 00:41:34,380 deck steel 445 00:41:34,380 --> 00:41:36,380 And for it to do that 446 00:41:36,860 --> 00:41:38,860 It's physics 447 00:41:41,260 --> 00:41:43,900 They finally got the implosion they were looking for 448 00:41:44,860 --> 00:41:48,940 But they had to stack the deck so far in favor of a failure 449 00:41:49,420 --> 00:41:51,420 This one's going to be difficult to call 450 00:41:51,980 --> 00:41:57,500 Well, this one was a bear. How do you want to call it? Well, I I think the myth as stated 451 00:41:57,660 --> 00:42:03,740 We have to conclude based on the evidence that it's busted your average tank car even under an impressive amount of vacuum pressure 452 00:42:03,980 --> 00:42:05,980 Isn't going to implode 453 00:42:05,980 --> 00:42:07,980 I agreed, but if it's 454 00:42:08,460 --> 00:42:11,020 Dented or corroded or otherwise compromised 455 00:42:11,820 --> 00:42:13,820 It could happen 456 00:42:13,900 --> 00:42:16,780 So, okay, let's get the hell out of here. Okay 457 00:42:16,780 --> 00:42:21,980 We need one of those pumper cards. Yes, I totally want one