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Written by Fenikkusu20
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Monday, 21 January 2008 |
Bond Myths Special (Pt. 1 of 2)
Episode #95
Original Airdate: 1/16/2008
Bond Myths Part 1
Electromagnetic Watch Deflection
The Myth: Can an electromagnet hidden in a wristwatch deflect a bullet?
The Source: The electromagnetic watch is a gadget given to Bond by Q in "Live and Let Die." While it is never shown, Bond surmises the watch could deflect a bullet.
Memorable/Quotable Moments:
"There, it's a watch. It looks like a watch. But it's not." Hyneman...James Hyneman
(While donning tuxedoes with Jamie) "I think it's really good that we get this chance to Bond." - Adam Savage
The Action/Results:
Before we begin, I should explain to those of you that may not know that while conventional or "permanent" magnets are constantly magnetized, electromagnets only become magnetized in the presence of an electric field. Now, onto the myth proper.
Jamie starts by finding the strongest electromagnet capable of fitting into a wristwatch. Once he's found one, he immediately starts doing what he always does: eking every ounce of capability out of it. Jamie manages to bump it up to 5x its normal strength (later tested to be at 575 Gauss at its most overclocked). He and Adam decide to head out to the gun range, where they set up their testing rig: a 9mm pistol set up for remote firing, a ballistics gel arm with electromagnetic wristwatch, the ever-popular high speed camera, and a paper target that looks like Jamie as Bond. Adam explains it as such: the gun will be reset to aim at the same spot each time. If the bullets continuously hit the same hole, they know there is no deflection (they test this without the magnet on and prove it works). If the bullet hits in a different spot, they know deflection has occurred.
With the 575 Gauss electromagnet, they fire the pistol. The bullet travels exactly through the same hole as in the control tests, therefore busting the myth outright, but the Mythbusters being the Mythbusters, they decide to ramp things up. The next test is a 3200 Gauss electromagnet, but when the gun is fired, it too does not deflect the slug one iota.
SCIENCE CONTENT! Magnets, like gravity, lose effectiveness over a distance. This is why even a strong ring magnet can stick papers to your fridge at close range but don't fly toward it from across the room. As the magnetic field spreads out, its strength goes down.
So, in order to even get a small deflection, the Mythbusters break out the heavy artillery, so to speak: 10 neodymium iron boron magnets. Using these uber-strong rare earth metal magnets creates a deflection, albeit a miniscule one. Then Adam tacks on three even stronger magnets at the end, bringing the total strength of the magnets to a whopping 60 THOUSAND Gauss. Adam puts down a strip of white tape as a marker, and they are able to show that the bullet deflects enough to bounce off the magnets and actually hit ABOVE the previous marks. For a more conventional electromagnet, however, this myth is absolutely BUSTED. Sorry, Q...007 is definitely not bringing this one back intact.
Propane Bullet Ignition
Myth: Using a 9mm pistol from a distance of 20 feet, Bond is able to shoot a 100 pound propane tank and cause it to explode.
Source: In the movie "Casino Royale", Bond escapes from villains using this trick, and comes away unscathed himself.
Quotable/Memorable Moments:
"After all, they want to die another day...not today." - Rob Lee
"Anyone else feel like an evil genius?" "Bye-bye, 00-Buster!" - Kari Byron and Grant Imahara (with Tory Belleci on evil laughter)
"You've seen your last martini, 003." - Kari "Mythy Galore" Byron
Kari and Tory dancing, Pulp Fiction-style.
Experts: Frank Tabor (munitions expert) and JD Nelson (explosives technician)
Action/Results:
Out at the firing range, the build team has a wide range of weapons to choose from, but they decide to start with the relatively small 9mm and work their way up. They also decide to shoot empty tanks first before trying to explode a full one. Kari takes her shot with the 9mm and fires into the tank twice. Both times create no more than a dent. The next gun to try is the shotgun, fired by Grant, which does pierce the tank...but only on one side. Finally, they decide to try a .30-06 with armor piercing rounds.
Brief aside on armor piercing rounds: as Tory explains, armor piercing rounds are essentially steel-core rounds surrounded by softer lead. At the first impact, the lead shears off, but the steel keeps flying until it hits something...and maybe causing a spark that would creating ignition. Tory fires the .30-06, and sure enough, it goes clean through the tank. But will it cause a boom? Switching to full tanks should provide an answer.
Setting Buster dressed as Bond 20 ft. from the target tank, using the armor piercing rounds, they fire the .30-06 into the tank. No explosion, but a lot of propane suddenly vaporizing. They switch to tracers and decide to try two rounds - one to spring the gas and one to ignite. While the first does its job, the second...and third...and forth don't do theirs. No explosion. It's time to step outside of the firearms world and into the world of high explosives.
JD Nelson attaches just enough explosives to open the tank and hopefully ignite the propane within; nevertheless, the team retreats to a bunker at a safe distance and watches like Blofeld observing 007's imminent demise. The explosive ignites...and then the propane ignites, sparking one dazzling fireball. Buster Bond, meanwhile, is shaken but not quite stirred. However, Kari, Tory, and Grant ARE stirred...to try one last test, with a minigun, incendiary rounds, and a bigger tank! Grant gets to channel his gunner fantasies at the same secret location where Jamie got to mow down a barrel of fish. Within the first couple of rounds hitting the tank, the tank goes up in a Mythbusterian big boom, a fitting end to this myth. Unfortunately, this myth is still as BUSTED as Bond's fist slugging Jaws right in the mouth.
Speed Boat Survival
The Myth: Bond drives a speedboat up a 18° incline on a levy in the Louisiana bayou, jumps 70 ft. over a police car, and lands perfectly in the water on the other side, able to speed off.
The Source: In the movie "Live and Let Die", Bond does this while escaping from Mr. Big's henchmen.
Memorable /Quotable Moment:
Adam stating how he cannot reveal where they are testing the myth while standing next to a "Lake Yosemite" sign.
The Action/Results:
As with all such myths, this one starts small scale. Adam builds a model of the bayou and fills it with water while Jamie adapts a steel girder into a launching ramp (they couldn't find a piece of levy to scale). During the small scale tests, as Adam drives a small remote-controlled boat, he soon finds out that the key factor is control. Whenever he doesn't hit the ramp right on, the boat either flips or spins. But when he hits it dead on, it lands perfectly straight. Now they must take it full scale, but there are a few things to do first.
The first thing is to do is to determine the speed needed. Jamie crunches the numbers and figures that with an 18° incline, the boat would need to travel at 45 mph in order to fly the 70 feet. They also need to find a boat similar enough to the boat used in the movie, but that is rather simple. The hard part is rigging it with remote control so that Adam can drive the boat without being in the boat. Such a prospect has Adam giddy over possible revenge for the Pole Vault Car incident...but Jamie won't let that happen (and neither will the insurance company). One of the simulaids stands in for Bond instead.
After traveling to their "secret location", they take the boat out on the water and let Adam check out the RC system. At this point, it should be noted that the Live and Let Die stunt team took 100 practice runs and thrashed 17 boats before getting the stunt right...and Adam's got one shot. But before they can do that, they have to build the ramp. After some difficulties getting the scaffolding into the water, they are now ready to give it a shot. Adam gets the boat up to 45MPH and is looking good, but just before they get to the ramp, the boat goes off just a little bit, and instead of flying, it flips. It does clear the police car, however (resting comfortably on a barge) before landing deck-downward on the other side. The important thing, though, is that the hull is still perfectly intact! While they did not outright confirm the myth, it is still within the realm of PLAUSIBILITY.
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Episode Descriptions 
