Please, don't try anything you about to see at home.
We're what you call experts.
On this episode of "Mythbusters,"
Adam and Jamie --
That is creepy and distasteful.
But scientific.
get the jump on a blockbuster --
Blowing up, please.
Can freezing a bomb hollywoodstyle --
We're getting power --
and taking cover in a bathtub
And we go in 3, 2, 1...
really save your life?
Meanwhile, Kari, Tory, and Grant --
fly by the seat of their pants.
I don't think I've ever flown this close to another plane.
Can flying like birds in a V formation --
We're getting sucked in --
save you fuel --
Why are we doing this?
and you money?
There is a lot of sexy data we got going there.
Sexy data, Not just the normal stuff.
Who are the mythbusters?
Adam Savage,
It's scientific.
and Jamie Hyneman.
I'll be darned.
Between them, more than 30 years of special-effects experience.
Together with Kari Byron,
I'm gonna wreck this car.
Tory Belleci,
We will have one shot at this.
and Grant Imahara.
I'm OK.
They don't just tell the myths,
They put them to the test.
First up,
Adam and Jamie have a tub-thumping jump.
This is a story that is about literally
almost kissing your ass good-bye.
in the movie,
Danny Glover sits on the toilet in his house
for a regular constitutional and hears a click.
When he looks down, he notices
that his toilet's been rigged with a pressure switch
that will set off a bomb the moment he stands up.
Are you with me?
Yeah. I haven't seen the movie.
That doesn't surprise me.
Anyway, he waits all night
before getting the courage to call his partner,
Mel Gibson, who shows up.
And they contact this plan that they will leap
from the toilet into the bathtub
for protection from the bomb.
The bomb squad has this technique
when they use in the film
where they power liquid nitrogen on the bomb,
slowing it down for "A few seconds,"
which supposedly is enough time for Mel and Danny
to get from the toilet into the bathtub
covered with a bomb blanket
and survive the blast.
I like the fact that there are several parts to this story
and the first is how fast can you get from
the toilet into the tub.
Yes.
The second is, how much if at all could liquid nitrogen
slow down the detonation of a bomb.
And lastly, if you did get to the tub in time,
would it and the bomb blanket protect you?
Precisely.
So let's start with the reaction time.
We'll set up a toilet and bathtub and proper geometry
to see how fast it takes to get
one from to the other.
Works for me.
So first, the guys will attempt lethal leaping.
Found us a toilet.
Good.
And for that,
they decide to precisely re-creat the scene of the crime.
Oh, man.
To replicate the bathroom,
we're using the same kind of bath tub
that was used in the movie.
An annoyingly large and heavy cast iron.
The real deal.
I've got to fit in there with you?
Yeah, unfortunately.
And we've got the same type of toilet,
a one piece porcelain one.
We'll place them the same distance apart
like in the movie.
We've even got a corner wall
so the every last thing is exactly the same.
Everything matches exactly.
But how will they time the jump from toilet to tub?
While it's never explicitly stated,
it's pretty obvious that the bomb in the movie
is triggered by a pressure switch
under the toilet seat which is convenient
because we're going to use the same thing
to trigger our timing runs.
This little pressure switch right here.
When we sit down on the toilet,
we will compress the presser switch,
and the system is armed.
At that point when we get up from the toilet,
the timer starts going
until we're in the tub covered with the blanket.
We'll film it on high speed.
We'll be able to see exactly how many seconds
it takes us to get there, and if that's enough.
And with the final piece of the puzzle,
a 30-pound bomb blanket like the one from the movie,
the guys will just have to get up close and personal.
Are you ready?
All right.
Ready --
it's going to be three, two, one,
- and then go. - Okay.
Three, two, one.
We got to do it one more time.
I missed the blanket.
That is really just creepy and distasteful.
But scientific.
Scientific indeed.
All right, let's see how we did it.
The jump is even more hilarious in slow motion.
Your form is excellent.
You're hugging the side --
But it's clear that having Jamie stay low
while Adam deals with the blanket is the right strategy.
That is unbelievable.
There we go.
We are at two seconds and two guys
are fully covered in that bathtub.
Nice work.
Two seconds ain't bad,
but to see if they can improve,
the guys go for the best of three.
Two, one, go --
Hey, that was pretty darn good.
I'm getting all bruised along this side.
Me, too.
Go!
Jamie and I were able to get from the toilet
to the bathtub in just under two seconds flat.
Now the question is,
will pouring liquid nitrogen on our bomb
slow the detonation down by at least that amount of time?
If it can, then it woult seem that
Mel and Danny could get to the relative
and possible safety of the bathtub in time.
If it doesn't,
then I guess they'd be vaporized.
Either way, it's going to be awesome.
Next, Kari,Tory, and Grant are winging it.
So what's the myth?
I'm sure you've seen birds flying in a V.
Yeah.
Okey, we'll supposedly they do that
because it's more energy efficient
which leads into our myth.
If it works for birds,
can it work for planes?
So do you actually save fuel by flying in a V formation?
Exactly.
And more importantly, save money?
Birds of a feather flock together
and they also fly in V formations.
But does that conserve energy?
And if it does,
is what's good for the goose
also good for planes
in the wide blue yonder?
All right, I think the first thing
we should do is go and talk to a bird expert.
Let's find out if they actually do fly
in a V formation because it's more energy efficient.
Then we can get some small scale models of planes
take them to NASA's water channel
and see if they can do the same thing.
Sounds like a great plan.
It is a two-pronged plan.
And to find out why birds fly in a V,
Kari and Tory head to
the Chrissy field bird sanctuary.
Come on, Kari.
I knew you were going do that.
Where bird expert Peter Pyle
can answer their feathery inquiries.
Why is it you see birds flying in V formation?
The bird behind the lead individual,
all birds going back in the V,
were save energy by flying
within the vortices of wind the bird in front of them.
Now, you are talking about "riding the vortex",
what does that mean?
Each bird as it flaps its wing
creates a vortex behind that wing.
And the vortex is created
because there's a pressure differential
between higher pressure below the wing
and lower pressure above.
And this creates an eddy that filters behind each wing.
So, as a wing moves through air,
it creates a wing tip vortex.
These low-pressure spinning cones of air create upwash
giving the bird behind a boost
and making it easier to stay aloft.
But do the birds save energy?
Researchers studying this have filmed birds
and have seen that the birds behind the lead bird
will flap less deeply
and flap less often than that lead bird will.
That's the first clue that they're saving energy
through flying in that formation.
Okay, so less flapping means
birds do save energy flying in the V formation,
meaning Kari can start on stage two.
Now, after talking it our bird expert,
I'm starting to think this myth
is looking really, really good.
But birds are not aircraft.
So I'm building a model airplane
to take to NASA's water tunnel
so I can see if flying in a flock formation
has the same benefits
for airplanes as it does for birds.
Since planes don't flap their wings,
the team will examine the aerodynamics
behind a fixed wing aircraft.
Sand it, paint it, put it in the tunnel.
And after a luminous paint job,
Kari's model is ready to strut its stuff.
I love coming here.
Water tunnel, good find.
At NASA,
Steve Smith is on hand to help
figure out the aerodynamics of the V formation.
Okay. Model's in place.
All right. What are we going to see here?
Let's go ahead and turn the dye flow on.
I can start to see it like create kinda a tube.
As the dye flows,
it's clear that there is a vortex
coming off the wing tip of the front plane.
There's an upper motion from the spiral
that's putting the following airplane in upwash.
So being in the upwash of the vortex is creating lift
and making it easier for the plane to fly.
Therefore we having more fuel efficient?
Exactly.
Just like the aerodynamics of birds in a V formation,
the fixed wing also creates a vortex
behind its wing tip.
And the resulting upwash makes it easier
for the funnel plane to stay aloft.
Now how far back could you be
and still get the benefit?
So the trailing vortex actually
persist for a long ways downstream.
In the case of jetliners,
it lasts for miles downstream.
And that's the proof of concept
that the mythbusters need.
Next step, to see if this model
scales up to full-sized planes.
Later, Adam and Jamie
test the tub-thumping boom.
This whole building,
I think it's gonna be pretty much gone when we're done.
But first, Kari, Tory,
and Grant are flying high.
And we are off the ground.
There's the liftoff!
So, toilet bombs.
We left this story with the plan
to do some liquid nitrogen testing.
But we're not, are we?
No, we're not.
Because we looked at the original footage
and we missed some of the parameters.
Neither of us were wearing bulletproof vests.
Exactly.
And I'm sorry to say,
you weren't wearing your pants around your ankles.
And I hadn't sat on the toilet for 12 hours.
Exactly.
So I think we need to do those tests again
and see how they actually affect our time.
I'm not going to have to sit on the toilet
for 12 hours, am I?
I can't imagine that we'll go all that way,
but we should talk to an expert
to make sure
it's not too dangerous.
Sounds like a plan to me.
A marathon 12-hour toilet sit
would limit blood flow to the legs
and make the hero's jump harder to achieve.
But is it even safe
to attempt it?
This is bulletproof vest, dude.
To realize full accuracy,
you'll also gonna need to
pull your pants down around your ankles.
Great.
And to find out the maximum time that
Jamie could remain on the throne,
Adam sought out an expert.
Jamie, here is your expert, Dr. Cho,
he is a neurologist.
Hi, doctor.
So, doc, i have some questions.
In the movie,
Danny Glover sits on the toilet overnight,
something like 12 hours, give or take.
I was thinking maybe I'll sit on the toilet here
for six or seven.
Is there a problem with doing that?
It is problematic mainly because
you're actually
creating mechanical pressure on the nerve,
and in a long period of time it can damage the nerve
and cause weakness and severe, severe pain.
A minimal amount of time,
maybe one to two hours, is
probably where you should cut off the experiment.
Okay, thanks, doc.
Oh, you're very welcome.
So it's only safe
to sit for a maximum of two hours,
which is good
because the strain is starting to show.
I've been sitting on the toilet about 26 minutes,
and the first symptom has occurred.
And that is that one foot, my left foot,
is starting to tingle.
It's -- it's a little numb.
After a further hour of sitting it out,
Jamie's legs are uncomfortably numb.
All right, sir.
I think we've got all the parameters in place.
You feeling ready?
let's do it.
Here we go, buddy.
One, two, three, lunge.
Amazingly,
even with numb legs and pants around ankles,
the guys end up on the right side of the blanket.
- Can I pull my pants up now? - Yes.
Camera off Jamie.
Don't film him.
Terrible.
Surprisingly,
the numb-legged jump was only marginally
slower than their previous best time.
I think it's a good test.
I think two seconds is the target we want to hit.
With all the parameters we see in the film,
Jamie and I were able to dive to safety
in just under two seconds flat.
Which is a lot faster than I thought it would be
when we started doing the testing.
Now it all comes down to whether or not
liquid nitrogen can slow the bomb's reaction down
enough to give us that mythical few seconds
that are explained in the film.
Apparently flocks of migrating birds
fly in v formation to save energy.
But if birds do it,
can planes do it, too?
After their proof of concept test at NASA,
the mythbusters are ready to take to the skies.
So we've come to the Tracy airport to test the myth
that flying in a v formation actually saves you fuel.
What a beautiful day to fly.
Let's conserve some fuel.
Because this could be a significant savings,
we've got not one, not two,
not three, but nine planes.
Nine planes and nine pilots,
courtesy of the west coast ravens.
Aerial acrobatics is their specialty.
And the guy leading them is Tim Cohn, AKA Slick.
All right, you'll be helping us fly in this formation
to see if we can save fuel.
Absolutely.
How dangerous is that?
It's a little more dangerous than normal formation flying.
We get upside down in formations,
but not in the wake turbulence.
So adding wake turbulence is an element
we've been practicing a little bit.
So hopefully everything will work all right.
Hopefully is right.
But it might be a bumpy right.
We have nine planes flying in a random pattern
at different altitudes.
We'll establish a set speed of 110 knots.
We're going to fly for ten minutes,
and every 30 seconds I'm going to write down a data point
for their flow rate and to establish a baseline.
And we can compare all the other results to it.
First up, all nine planes will get airborne
for a fuel consumption baseline.
Feel the need, the need for data.
The tray tables and seats in the landing positions.
The planes taxi down the runway
and take off one after the other.
And we are off the ground.
There's the lift off.
All right.
Let's start the ten-minute clock now.
Maybe 30 seconds I'm going to take down a data point.
With the squad in random positions,
maintaining a speed of 110 knots,
the control test is off to a flying start.
Flow rate holding around seven
to 7.9 gallons per hour.
This is a great control test.
This is going to give us some juicy data.
Yeah, you never heard that before, juicy data.
Not just the normal stuff.
There's a lot of sexy data we've got going here.
Every 30 seconds, that sexy fuel flow is collected
from each plane as they'll test against themselves,
not the other plants.
There's only a minute to go in the control test,
we're getting the really consistent results.
We're looking at 6.56 gallons per hour.
And after ten minutes of non-formation flying,
the test comes to an end.
Copy that. Stop data logging.
Okay, that completes our test.
We made it!
Nice flying, g-force.
All right.
Let's see if next time we can save some fuel.
Back on solid ground,
the results of the control are in.
So with the control test and my plane cruising alone at 110 knots
at an altitude of approximately 4,000 feet,
as you can see on the ground,
We get an average fuel consumption of 6.6 gallons per hour.
And the data for the other planes is similar.
Fuel rate varies,
but what's key is that the formation results
for each plane will be compared against the baseline.
Now it's time to try different formations
and see if that makes a difference.
Next up,
Can freezing C4 creat enough delay to make a getaway?
We're getting power.
With the good cop sitting on a time bomb,
it's down to some liquid nitrogen,
a quick jump, a bathtub to save his life.
Adam and Jamie have proved it takes two seconds
for two men to make the leap.
Can pouring freezing liquid nitrogen
onto a bomb create the two-second delay needed for a getaway?
The guys are headed to the top of the range to find out.
In the movie they pour liquid nitrogen on the bomb behind the toilet
in order to slow it down
and give themselves an extra few seconds.
Now when we hear that statement,
we figure that the liquid nitrogen
could be acting in one of two ways.
Either it is slowing down the C4's own reaction
to blasting cap going off and delaying the explosion,
or it's actually slowing down the chemical reaction
within the batteries that initiate
that blasting cap going off.
Whichever it is,
we're going to find out on the bomb range
because we're going to try all those permutations right here.
For that, Adam has built a disposable rig
to pour liquid nitrogen on to the bomb.
Perfect.
But the trickiest part will be capturing the detonation delay.
So the mythbusters' brain's trust has designed this.
You set up the system whereby
when I press these buttons --
It sends power to this relay switch here.
One leg this relay --
instantly lights up this L.E.D. sign.
Simultaneously the relay's other leg
sends power to this block of C4,
enough power to detonate it.
If there was any difference at all
between the power impulse and the detonation,
we should see it in the difference
between the lighting of that sign
and the detonation of this explosive.
And the first test of the system will be straight C4.
To find the normal detonation delay.
Okay.
Arming the system.
All right.
This is straight C4
in three, two, one --
That was lovely.
That was really nice.
Kind of a refreshing --
Refreshingly explosive.
But was there any kind of delay?
It took ten frames between the light lighting up
and the c4 smoke detectoring.
Ten frames were shooting at 3,000 frames per second sorts,
approximately 3.3 milliseconds
between initiation and detonation.
Just over 0.003 second?
Yeah.
Three milliseconds is the standard delay.
So now crack open the liquid nitrogen.
This is what I imagined
being a mad scientist was like as a child.
With one cup in the flask
and an identical piece of the c4 in the dish --
- Ok, we're set. - We're ready.
the guys retire to safety
where they wait the two minutes of the movie
for the c4 to fully freeze.
Okay. Here we go.
In three, two, one, go!
I heard stuff hitting.
No delay either.
No delay.
really?
well, I mean, maybe a few milliseconds,
but I heard three, two, one, boom.
I didn't hear three, two, one -- boom.
Maybe not but perhaps the high-speed camera
caught a freeze frame delay.
46 frames.
It's 4.5 times greater a delay when it was super,
super cooled than when was just normal.
It still wouldn't help you get into that bathtub, though.
It's a pretty tiny difference.
15 miliseconds is far
from the mythical two-seconds delay of the film.
So what's next?
Now we're going to take a period-correct battery
that's attached to our bomb that would absolutely ignite it.
We're going to immerse that in the liquid nitrogen
and see if that gives us the extra time that we're looking for.
With one cup of liquid nitrogen in the flask,
it's time for the '80s-style alkaline battery to chill out.
It's immersed.
With the battery immersed in minus
300-degree liquid nitrogen,
the guys wait the two munites of the film.
This is battery and C4 immersed
in liquid nitrogen in three, two, one, go.
No boom.
I'll hold it down again.
We're getting power.
The system is still working --
the sign's lighting up.
We seem to have inhibited the battery's ability
to set off the blasting cap.
It looks like the bomb has frozen up.
But is there another reason it's not detonating?
You're sure it's properly wired?
We've got a bowl full of liquid nitrogen
capped in C4 and a battery.
We're just going to sit here and wait
until the liquid nitrogen boils off,
and then we're going to try and blow it up again.
After 15 minutes the liquid nitrogen has evaporated.
Now the moment of the truth of the myth
is if the delay will still remain.
Blowing up, please.
In three, two, one --
Nice!
That worked beautifully!
You know what that means for the movie --
it means those guys could have just strolled right
on out of that building.
They didn't need to worry about the bathtub
or bomb blankets or anything of that stuff.
No, they got a lot more than a couple of extra seconds.
They got an extra 15 minutes by my watch.
And we wouldn't have had to get into the bathtub together either.
I guess that experimentation was a waste.
Not a waste,
but at least you'll always have the high speeds.
Well, it would appear that the "Lethal weapon two"
bomb squad's technic for slowing down a bomb
are more effective in reality than in the movie.
When does that ever happen?
I know. But we're not done yet.
There are quite a few more pieces to this puzzle
that we have to diss out.
I know.
Let's get to it.
Coming up next, on Mythbustters
we put real airplanes to the test to find out
if flying in a v formation is going to save you fuel.
Please do not try what you're about to see at home.
We're what you call experts.
Can you tell?
All right, we are back.
We're at Treacy airport
testing whether flying in a v formation will save you fuel.
We're not just going to test v formation,
we're going to test flying abreast side by side
and in a conga line to see
mabe if other formations might save you fuel.
Just like the control test,
we'll be flying in these formations for ten minutes.
We'll monitor how much fuel is being used.
Once we're done,
we'll see which formation is the most efficient.
Most importantly,
to see whether or not
flying in a V formation is the best way to go.
This myth is all about the fuel efficiency of the V.
But that's not the only formation that could save fuel.
For a complete set of results,
they'll also test the side by side and the conga line.
But the first formation for our squad
of nine planes is the mythical V.
Now this is the dangerous parts
as we move into V formation because, remember,
we are flying in the vortices
of the airplane in front of us.
All right, let's start the 10 minutes o'clock now.
Flow rate is now 6.8.
Right now each plane is in the other's sweet spot.
That sounds creepy, but it's true.
And that sweet spot just happens to be
in the wing tip vortex of the plane in front.
And will although it creates lift,
it's also very unstable.
We went a little bit too far in.
And we started getting sucked in toward the leg.
If you're too far out,
yeah, you get no gait at all.
It takes a lot of skill to stay out of trouble.
The west coast ravens hold formation.
I'm collecting data,
it's a lot more fun from an airplane.
There we go.
Approaching seven minutes,
and we've got 6.47 gallons per hour.
After ten minutes, the test comes to an end.
So we just finished the tight V formation.
And looking at the numbers,
it's already apparent that flying in a V formation
saves you more fuel than flying without it.
But the final fuel-efficiency results
will stay up in the air
because the squad moves straight
into the side-by-side formation.
OK, this test here is for the V side by side.
we call shiver fred.
That's basically wing tip to wing tip.
No advancing or trying to get in front of like a V.
This is basically side by side.
There's some turbulence caused
by the planes being so close together.
I'm a little bit nervous about this one.
I don't think I've ever flown this close to another plane.
On purpose at least.
Now in formation, the data collection begins again.
All right.
We are at about two minutes in,
and we're using 6.18 gallons per hour.
By being only 15 feet away from each other
is challenging their concentration.
Yeah. Data, had to take the data.
I am breathing a little deeper just trying to calm down.
But the fact that we are practically
on top of each other side by side,
it's freaking me out a little bit.
Luckily, collecting data is distracting me.
It's a heavy sense of data and danger.
And after ten minutes,
it's time for the final formation.
Right now we are moving into position
to set up for the conga line.
I have the easy ride being in the front.
I heard Tory and Grant have a little rougher time behind me.
Yep, because as the planes take their places,
it's clear this isn't going to be smooth sailing.
We just ran from a nice, easy,
smooth ride to a roller coaster ride.
We're now flying flew the other planes'
rotor wash, and it's very turbulent.
It's a rotor wash roller coaster
in the name of fuel efficiency.
Two minutes in, we have 6.35 gallons.
But the turbulence this test
is making the others look tame.
And I thought lying abreast was scary.
Here's an interesting thing.
The pilot in front of us is getting kicked out --
when they get kicked out, so do we.
Sort of a thing that you go all the way down the line,
bang, bang, bang.
Oh, my -- ah!
I hate the conga line!
Holy crap!
Why are we doing this?
This doesn't seem safe at all.
Well, after the bumpiest ten minutes of their lives,
the mythbusters can finally touch down.
Hey, we are down.
That concludes our conga line test, thank goodness.
Back on terra firma,
it's time to find out if any of the formations saved fuel.
You guys ready to print some data?
Oh, yes, sir.
And after a bumper number crunch, the results are in.
There is a lot of raw data.
But the results from our planes tell the story.
Now all the control baselines are roughly similar.
But what's really interesting is the formation flying.
In the conga line,
the fuel use went way up, by as much as 18%.
In the side by side,
fuel usage was pretty much the same as control,
maybe a fraction lower.
But not significantly so.
But then there's the V.
Both my and Tory's plane saved fuel.
We were at 5% and 3% more efficient than the baseline.
But interestingly, even Kari's plane,
which was the lead plane, saved fuel,
which is what studies on birds have also reflected.
And remember that all our tests
performed at the same altitude and the same speed.
So all our data is good and comparable.
And good data is what it's all about.
Good data,
that can only lead to one conclusion.
This myth is confirmed.
We saw it work in theory in the water tunnel.
We saw it work in practice in the air.
Now 3% to 5% savings in fuel translates
to a lot of money if you think about it in the long term.
Flying in a V formation may save you fuel,
but there's a flaw.
Is it really practical that anyone would fly
that close realistically?
Maybe we should try it again,
but this time have our spacing being a little safer.
See, if you extend the V out further,
if you still get that fuel efficiency.
It would be a lot safer.
Let's try it.
Coming up next,
the final flight formation takes wing.
I definitely like science better when it's got a view.
Welcome back.
We've been investigating the bomb-proof bathtub buddy jump
from "Lethal weapon two".
And so far
we've actully determined the techniques used by the boob swat
in that film would give you plenty of time to get from the toilet
inside the protection of the bathtub underneath the bomb blanket.
Nice!
That worked beautifully.
Now it's time to figure out
if once you're in that bathtub
you could actually survive the blast.
Behind me,
Jaime is leveling a spot for
putting in a real coded full-sized bathroom in
and we're going to blow it up.
It's the final part of this film make fable:
survivability.
We got the Hyneman in his natural habitat.
Ensconced in his protective shell,
he nests creating a hole for future Hyneman.
He seems to have noticed us.
Don't make a move.
What do you think, is it level yet?
Not even close.
Okay.
Without interaction went, without incident.
Just remember,
the Hyneman is just as afraid of you as you are of him.
With the ground on the level,
it's a simple job of bringing in the floor.
Close enough?
Close enough.
Knocking up the walls.
And hauling in buster with the all-important tub.
Perfect.
Here we go.
Savage and Hyneman construction company.
They're building to code,
but just like all mythbusters construction project,
the ultimate fate is detonation.
Our little disposable outhouse is almost done.
Not quite. I think it needs a coat of paint.
Perfect.
Let's do it.
You might say it's a box standard job.
I know.
The worst painting job ever.
If I were hiring me to do this,
I'd ask me for my money back.
Once it's complete, they can bring in the can.
That feels about right.
With the layout matching the movie,
it's time for their experimental apparatus to join the John.
I'm about to drill a hole in this bathtub
for our instrumentation.
The technical term for this drill bit
is big honking drill bit.
That makes a big honking hole in the cast iron.
Here we go.
This is the plug I just drilled out
of the bathtub for our sensing equipment
to find out if our dudes would actually survive this blast.
And I noticed something particular about it which is,
it's a lot of cast iron.
A lot of cast iron in the way
between our guys and the blast,
and it's kind of an ideal angle.
I am starting to feel cautiously optimistic
that this blast might be survivable.
Adam's optimistic.
But to precisely monitor survivlability,
They've got this.
I'm gonna stall this pipe cap right here
in the hole of bottom of the tub.
Inside it are actully two sensors.
These sensors will give us the pressure readings
and let us know whether our movie heroes
actually survived the blast in this tub.
And for a comparison,
Adam fits a twin set of sensors
on the outside of the bath.
All right. Sensors are in.
Then Jamie adds his finishing touches
to their bathroom bomb backdrop.
Water is very good at absorbing energy.
Yep, soon it will look like a bomb has hit it.
Bon voyage.
Now it looks right.
Is it a bird?
Is it a plane?
No, it's the mythbusters in planes
flying like birds.
I definitely like science better when it's got a view.
With the V formation confirmed,
the mythbusters are taking to the air
for their twist on this fuel-efficient formation.
We are setting up for what we're calling "the extended V".
This is like the type V with one major difference.
Instead of being one plane length from the leader,
you'll be ten plane lengths away.
Based on our results in the water channel,
we should see some sort of difference.
We'll see if that translates into the practical world.
This is a more real-world scenario.
The tight V is far too dangerous for normal aircraft.
But will increasing the distance of the V
still benefit fuel efficiency?
We're about 200 feet from the plane
in front of us and the plane behind us.
Being this far away,
it's hard to find that sweet spot.
All the squad found out into extend positions,
and the clock starts once more.
The interesting thing out here
is that even though theoretically
you should have the same effect,
I don't feel like we're flying through someone's wave.
It's pretty smooth.
Being in the vortex in the long V formation
isn't as noticeable.
But you can tell the pilots
have to make a lot of adjustments to stay here.
Maybe.
But when it comes to applying it to fleets of passenger jets,
this could be a more practical formation.
I'm noticing a little bit more of a variation in the numbers.
They were more consistent with the tight V.
I'm thinking it's a lot harder
to stay in the sweet spot when you're in the extended V.
It's harder to find it.
After ten minutes of data logging,
the Mythbusters can bring the myth in for a landing.
That will conclude your in-flight entertainment
on Mythbuster-Air.
We know you have a choice for travels
so thank you for flying with Mythbust-Air.
All right.
Extended V formation -- how did you guys do?
Well, you know what? I actually saved fuel.
Even ten aeroplane length back
I was able to benefit from the sweet spot.
In the extended V, I didn't see any savings whatsoever.
But, you know, i suspect it's from being all the way
at the end of the pack.
It's just so hard to keep compensating
and trying to find the sweet spot.
Kari, you as the plane in the lead,
how did you do?
Well, unlike the really tight V formation
in the loose formation, I did not get any savings.
But honestly,
I still think this myth is confirmed for the loose V formation.
If there's even a little savings for the following planes,
in a large scale that translates to a lot of money.
This might be the way to fly in the future.
It's confirmed.
After the break: freeze!
It's rub-a-dub-dub,
will buster survive in the tub?
Down on the range,
the mythbusters are prepping for the bathroom boom.
We are almost here,
and here's how this experiment is going to play out.
Our bomb will be placed exactly
where it is placed in the film --
directly behind the toilet on the ground.
Buster will be inside the cast iron tub
exactly the same geometry as in the movie,
and he will be covered by
an actual bombproof blanket.
Underneath this blanket
are two pairs of PCB pressure transducers.
And the signal from the centers will be coming
through wires that go into this pipe
and are buried in the ground for their protection.
And then picked up by this data acquisition center,
which will take a signal and send it through that wire.
And ends up here where our trusty David Harding,
who will receive those electrical signals as data
and tell us once and for all
whether buster and the tub survive the blast.
Pretty cool, huh?
Pretty cool.
And the last piece this "Lethal Weapon" myth
is the lethal weapon itself.
Might make the outhouse more out than the house,
but it's the same amount of C4 as the bomb in the movie.
We are going to try and find out
if buster would survive in that cast iron bathtub
protected by the bomb blanket.
Inside the tub, our PCB pressure transducers
are going to give us mighty fine reading.
They should be able to tell us whether buster's dead
or merely severely injured
or maybe just had his eardrums blown out.
This is the last piece of the mythical puzzle.
Will the bathtub and bomb blanket
protect buster from the blast?
With everything in position,
the guys retreat to the bunker for the final countdown.
This is the "Lethal Weapon Two" Bathtub Blast.
Charging.
Ready to go in three, two, one --
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Look, I can see the tub is still there in one piece.
But nothing else --
No, the room is gone.
Really gone.
There's no doubt that one kilo of C4 took out the room.
However, the cast iron bathtub
seems to be made of tougher stuff.
The tub is fine.
Our sensors are also intact which is really nice.
There's no sign of the toilet whatsoever.
I found the toilet seat and the toilet mechanism.
But as far as the actual toilet --
- Yeah, there's like, little bits of ceramic - Oh, yeah.
Shall we check with David
and see what the data says?
I don't think there's anything else left to do here.
No.
Hey, David?
What have we got?
Welll, you can see for yourselves.
The red and the blue curves
are the sensors that were outside the tub.
Clearly you see the red line and the blue line.
The pressure spike is really severe.
180 PSI.
Am I correct that the green line pretty minimal?
The maximum pressure inside the tub was eight PSI.
You're telling me that's survivable.
Very survivable.
No way,
that is crazy.
The difference between the sensors
inside the tub and the ones on the outside
clearly show that the blast is survivable.
And moreover --
Would they have had hearing damage?
The threshold for a ruptured eardrum
starts around five PSI.
There is a chance and according to research,
there could be a 10% and 15% chance of hearing damage.
That's still pretty long.
That blows my freaking mind.
With only a 10% to 15% chance of hearing damage,
it seems that amazingly
this "Lethal Weapon" leap is confirmed.
I'm standing on the only intact part of our bathroom set,
the cast iron tub or as I plan to refer to it,
here I'm in, the bomb-proof survival vessel.
Buster here is a living
being thanks to the strength of this bathtub.
And even though I predicted that that might actually occur,
it doesn't mean I'm completely blown away,
looking at the damage around me
and finding out that it was true.
I am totally astonished.
I mean, first of all,
it turns out that liquid nitrogen
will slow down the detonation of a bomb.
And then it turns out that the path tub
will totally protect you from the blast when it does go off.
How often do we replicate an action sequence
and everything turns out to be true?
Everything is confirmed.
Who knew?
Want to know why we did what we did?
and didn't do what we didn't do?
Check out the "After Show."
Welcome to discovery.com/mythbustersaftershow
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