MythBusters..... What went wrong ???

[BShanahan14rulz]

The myth was that stone cannonballs can fell a stone castle wall. My guess is they ramped up the powder charge when they found the stone balls just were not doing the job adding to the acceleration portion of F=ma to increase the force and missed the wall.

I second this, although with FOUR people on the show, even accounting for the negative IQ of one of the members, this should have been obvious that changing the powder charge or the projectile mass warrants a recalculation of the trajectory.

I've heard that cannonballs can bounce like mad, and if you think about it, it has to meet a sum of opposing force that is equal to the charge that it was given when fired. Bouncing doesn't oppose forward movement that much..

I also heard that the projectile missed the target and bounced up and over a hill or wall that was meant to protect the surrounding area from shrapnel.

"And would you like to add on the optional insurance to your bomb-range rental?"

"Yes, please!"

:gun:

 

[lasersbee]

I second this, although with FOUR people on the show, even accounting for the negative IQ of one of the members, this should have been obvious that changing the powder charge or the projectile mass warrants a recalculation of the trajectory.

I've heard that cannonballs can bounce like mad, and if you think about it, it has to meet a sum of opposing force that is equal to the charge that it was given when fired. Bouncing doesn't oppose forward movement that much..

I also heard that the projectile missed the target and bounced up and over a hill or wall that was meant to protect the surrounding area from shrapnel.

"And would you like to add on the optional insurance to your bomb-range rental?"

"Yes, please!"

:gun:

And which member would that be....:thinking:

Jerry

You can contact us at any time on our Website: J.BAUER Electronics

 

[swimminsurfer256]

I saw this on the news. They apparently were testing the myth that you can make cannonballs out of various different random weird materials and still have them be as effective as an actual cannonball. They apparently were aiming the ballz at water tanks backed by a cinderblock wall when they missed the water tanks at which point it smashed through the cinderblock wall and bounced up and traveled into that guys house. Apparently it went through a house and bounced again into another house or on another roof or something...

I had no idea cannonballs were that powerful hahaha

:thanks: Mythbusters!

 

[ShortyInCanada]

From the research I looked into after seeing the first few posts here :
They were testing the myth as listed above.
The cannonball in question missed the water tanks, blasted through the cinderblock wall, bounced off the sloped berm behind, then went airborne for a significant distance coming down between two houses, bounced up blasting through the front door of a house and coincidentally going up the stairwell in the trajectory it was going, blow out the back wall of the house, clearing 4 lanes of highway, ricochet off a rooftop then finally descending destroying a minivan that was just parked in someone's driveway minutes earlier.
Incredibly lucky to not have any injuries to anybody in the fairly heavily populated area.
A lady and her young daughter were sleeping in the bedroom that the ball went through and out the back of the house.
AND to note the forces involved, the cannonball went through their house so fast and effortlessly that they weren't awakened by the passing but the sound of the damaged drywall "settling" afterwards. No real shaking or movement of the house structure by the ball. Like a hot knife through butter as the saying goes.
The episode is not going to be aired, according to the latest press releases. Probably due to the content revealing an easy way to wreak havoc for those so inclined to abuse the knowledge.
The main hosts(Adam Savage and Jamie H.) were not part of the crew on the location. It was Kari, Tory, and Grant with the bomb range experts on site. The main hosts did attend the scene and issued apologies/statements the following day.
The range is now closed except for emergency explosives disposal.
The show has insurance to cover physical damages. The question of emotional or psycological issues will need to be sorted out.

Too bad the episode couldn't be aired outside of the US only so we could see the true impact of the forces involved. The parts that didn't involve the accident would still be nice to see.
I think it would serve to be a GREAT example of the dangers involved in what they do. Even though they take all the precautions they can and do things in ways deemed to be "safe" (or as safe as possible) there is always a danger that can't be forgotten. This is a lucky example of how things can turn out far different than expected and is the biggest support for the disclaimer at the beginning of every episode to "not try this at home. Ever !"
Out of respect for those that suffered loss they won't be admitting to much of anything on the air for a while though. Maybe in a few years.

 

[JLSE]

Perhaps they should find an artillery range to fire artillery... :thinking:

A bomb range is not the place to be doing this, and this 'accident' only serves
as a reminder as to why..

An abandoned gravel pit with high walls would have been much better suited. My
guess is that they were also testing something else that day that involved
energetics and to save costs of moving set, stayed there..

Not very smart :tsk:


Good thing they didnt get their hands on this >

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Looks quite a bit bigger in real life, but as artillery goes, still quite small.

Side note... No you're not allowed to climb on it, and yes, the guards will be pissed, the chain around it is new... wasn't there in 2002 iirc

Came across this while killing time at work...