09x04 - Tablecloth Chaos

[bunniefuu]

On this episode of "MythBusters"...

The current is really strong.

It's bubble, bubble, toil and trouble...

Like riding a bucking bronco.

...as the guys test a fizzy fable

that it's impossible to stay
afloat in bubbly water.

You're just not trying hard enough.

That's more like it!
Yeah, baby!

But, will it be a case of sink or swim?

Swim harder.

Meantime, Kari, Tory and Grant
take aim at a myth

that's got them quiver with anticipation.

Okay, it's lit!

Can an exploding arrow

cleave a mighty pine tree in two?

With precision expl*sives

and the mother of all pine trees,

it's time to split.

I'm so ready!

Here we go.

Three, two, one!

Who are the MythBusters?

Adam Savage...

That's the spirit, soldiers!

...and Jamie Hyneman.

I'll be darned.

Between them, more than 30 years

of special effects experience.

Joining them, Kari Byron...

That is messed up!...

...Grant Imahara...

Start the car!

...and Tory Belleci.

This time is car up!

They don't just tell the myths...

...they put them to the test!

MythBusters 09x04 - Bubble Trouble
Original air date April 27, 2011

Sync and corrected by atrn97g
www.addic7ed.com

Hangover?

No.

I'm setting up a demo for our next story.

Which is?

There is a myth going around

that it is impossible
to swim in bubbly water.

Whether it's antacid
tablets, or carbonated,

as long as there's bubbles in the water,
you won't be able to swim.

Really?

Yeah, the conventional
wisdom is that the bubbles

make the water overall less dense,

and so, while you would float
in the non-bubbly water,

when you get to the bubble part,

you would sink like a stone.

Sound like we're going for a swim.

I think so.

According to the myth,

when water is filled with fizz,

you supposedly sink without trace.

But, does the density
difference of bubbly water

really mean that swimming
in it is impossible?

Well, since we used up all our
antacid breaking out of jail...

...what say we start with something
small, like a fish tank,

and make a bunch of bubbles
in it, see what happens.

Sounds good. Let's do it.

The myth is that it is impossible
to swim in bubbly water

because the aerated water is supposed to be

less dense than regular water.

Are you ready for some experimenting?

I don't think so.

So I'm about to conduct
some scale experiments

to see if there is a change
in density of water

when I run a crackload
of bubbles through it.

All right, let's try that again.

It's a great place to start.

Adam and his 2-D "mini me"

will test the science
at the heart of this myth.

Do bubbles make a difference
to the density of water?

What I've made here is a crude hydrometer.

It's actually floating at
a very specific depth,

depending on the density of the water.

If I increase the density of this fish tank

with, say, salt, he would
float a little higher.

If I decrease the density

with, let's say, air bubbles,
he'd float a little lower.

Now, if this myth is is true,

and I put a whole bunch of
air bubbles underneath this guy,

little Adam there is gonna drown.

So, now that 2-D "mini me"
is neutrally bouyant,

it's time to see if he'll sink
like the myth suggests.

Three, two, one.

Someone is happy.

But aside from putting a smile

on Adam's dial, what are the results?

I'm seeing almost no change at all

in the hydrometer's level.

If anything, it's actually
rising a little bit.

And I must admit, I had
a little bias going into this.

I thought that as soon as
I turned on the bubbles,

that hydrometer was gonna
drop below the surface.

I'm fully in camp of
"the bubbles lower the density",

but there's something else going on here.

At any rate, in a small scale test,

it is not looking very good for this myth.

A conviction only confirmed
after Jamie gets a demo.

So I see you're fixing to dump
water all over my floor.

No, no, I'm containing it
in this lovely tank.

So, what do you think is gonna happen?

I think it's gonna sink.

Check this out.

It's not sinking.

Not at all, not even a little bit.

If anything, it rises up
a fraction of an inch.

You would think that the increased
amount of air in the water

would make it less dense, so it would sink,

but that seems to be
counteracted, and then some,

by the upwelling current of the
movement of those bubbles.

Not looking very good for
the story at this point.

No.

Far from sinking,
the hydrometer rose slightly,

but it's too early to call this myth yet.

After all, you can't test a
swimming saga without getting wet.

Next up, a myth that's
going to blow you away.

All right., so this myth
comes from a viewer.

A guy in Iowa wrote in and said
that his uncle used to take

a bow and arrow, strap a
stick of dynamite to it,

light it, fire into a tree,

and when it would explode, it
would split the tree up the middle.

Okay, are you sure this is a viewer myth

and not like a Tori Belleci family history?

No, I'm serious! He wrote it in!

Wery well, I'm willing to try it.

Sounds like we need a stick of
dynamite, an arrow, and a tree.

As any William Tell fan will,
err, "Tell" you, the trick

of splitting an apple
with an arrow is a blast.

But according to this myth,
an arrow, coupled with dynamite,

can split a much bigger apple.

But is this fan fable bubble baloney?

Okay, for this experiment
I think we need to just go for it.

Get the biggest log we can
find and just anchor it

to the ground at the b*mb range.

Remember, we're trying to split this
tree down the middle with expl*sives.

We don't wanna just blow it into pieces.

Right.

Full scale testing means
finding the right tree.

We're here at the b*mb range to find out

if our dynamite arrows can split a tree.

These are our trees.

They're pine trees from a recycler.

Now, they're 20 feet long
and almost 6,000 pounds.

So the first step, dig a hole.

The pine trees tech specs match
the viewer myth almost to the letter.

All right, how's about right here?

While Kari gets on with step one...

So much better than a shovel.

...getting to grips with the
pines' parameters is Grant.

Now, we've chosen the pine tree

because it's one of the most
common trees in America.

In fact, there are over 35 varieties
in North America alone.

But there are two reasons that might
make it easier to split down the middle.

One, they have vascular bundles
that run the entire length of the tree.

These are tiny tubes that carry
water and nutrients to the top.

And two, it's got a spiral grain which
goes parallel to the axis of the tree.

Those things together might
just help us get a split.

That's the theory.

And, with the target
tree now standing tall...

That's what I call a real stick in the mud.

...the guys turn their
attention to the weapon,

setting up a remote bow and
arrow firing mechanism.

So we need to fire a lit stick of dynamite
from a bow and arrow into a tree.

Now, that is way too
dangerous for us to do.

So, we brought out our remote
arrow firing mechanism.

With the bow ready to go,
that just leaves the payload.

We're not gonna use dynamite,

cause, actually, it's a fairly
unstable substance.

Instead, our experts Frank Doyle
and J.D. Nelson have given us... this.

It's a binary expl*sive.

It's a lot more stable, which means it
will go off when and where we want it to.

And it has exactly the same amount
of energy as a stick of dynamite.

After a quick test fire to make sure the
remote bow and arrow is on the money,

it's time to take aim at this myth.

It's time to load up our arrow firing
machine, sh**t it into the tree,

and see if it gets split down the middle.

Do I think that's gonna happen?

Sure. Absolutely.

If we lived in a cartoon.

"Wile E. Coyote" Kari has her doubts.
But there's only one way to find out.

All right. So the dynamite's lit.

Let's see if we can cleave this tree.

Okay, this is dynamite arrow, take it!

Here we go, in three, two, one...

The arrow gets triggered.

The fuse burns through.

And then...

And the tree still stands.

That was a good blast.

It sure was a hefty blast.

But when the smoke clears, it's
clear it wasn't hefty enough.

The tree appears to be
pretty well undamaged.

All right,

well, the tree is still in one piece.

Yeah, I don't even see a crack.

Well, maybe we need more expl*sives.

Maybe this was more than
just like a stick of dynamite,

maybe it was extra powerful dynamite.

That is a great idea.

After a surprisingly feeble first
test, the myth is already on thin ice.

So it's time to up the ante.

We're gonna double the amount of expl*sives

that we're attaching
to the tip of the arrow.

Same as before, we're gonna
light the fuse, remote fire it

into the tree and see what happens.

Later, on "MythBusters",

splitting time with a super dynamite arrow.

But next, bubble, bubble,
Adam's in trouble.

Oh, the current is really strong.

I don't know, man.

It's not looking very good for this story.

Our hydrometer didn't just
not sink in the water, it rose.

Well, you know, sometimes things

as basic as air and water
just doesn't scale that well.

Let's say we bump it up
a notch and go larger.

All right.

Hey, you know irrigation tank
we used for whirlpool of death?

What say we fill that full of water
and put a bubbler at the bottom of it?

I think we've still got it.

I think we do. Let's do it.

Yeap, the small scale wasn't
particularly promising.

It's not sinking.

But the myth hasn't sunk just yet,

and as Adam won't fit in that tank,
the team is upsizing everything.

Starting with the bubble maker.

So, this assembly of aquarium bubblers
worked pretty well for this... test,

but if we're gonna do this in
a larger scale, I don't wanna

have to do all the plumbing, and "You can buy

a thousand of these
little aquarium thingies".

I need to figure out
some more efficient way

of creating lots of little bubbles.

And the method is typically Jamiesque
in its practical simplicity.

Compressed air, pumped
into a canvas pillow case,

forcing thousands of tiny
bubbles through the fabric.

Ah, that is very cool.

Very cool indeed.

With the proof of concept
pillow case bubbling away,

Adam's on to the next task.

Well, let's start figuring out
how to go full scale with this,

cause I'm dying to get
in the water with this.

If the myth is true, dying could be right.

But Jamie doesn't seem
too bothered by the prospect.

It's gonna be fun.

But before the fun begins,
Jamie has to upscale

his prototype into a heavy
duty working model.

So, all we've done here is welded together
a couple of heavy steel frames,

and we've sandwiched, inside the frames, our pillow case.

We're pumping air into that pillow case,

and as it pressurizes, it comes
through the weave of the fabric.

That's great.

It makes little bubbles.

But not in the shop it won't.

For that, they're heading for
some familiar queasy scenery.

Brings back memories, don't it?

Not very pleasant ones.

Yep, the last time Adam took
a dip in the irrigation tank...

Cut it!

Well, that's great.

...things did not go quite to plan.

I'm done with science for today.

We've done our small scale tests
and we've learned a thing or two,

but if we're gonna find out if it's
possible to swim in fizzy water,

we're gonna have to swim in fizzy water.

We've come back out here to
Alameda to this 10,000 gallon tank

that we installed a few years ago,

and we're gonna put a larger bubbler in
there, and Adam's gonna go for a swim.

Or not.

Now comes the tricky bit.

Getting the giant bubbler up and in.

All right.

Take it on up.

So, our bubbler is just about
ready to be put in place.

That's a tight fit.

Okay, stop!

What happens next is that
we hook up the air supply...

Okay, go ahead and give it some air.

Nice!

And then we slowly lower it.

The 20 feet to the bottom of
this tank, which is full of...

reasonably clear but quite cold water.

Then, I will put on some scuba gear,

and then we're pretty much
ready to do this test,

which I hope happens quickly,
because this water right now

is about 50, 51 degrees.

As plans go, it's pretty straightforward.

I'm above ground, and yet
I'm going scuba diving.

Bon voyage.

All right.

How is the water?

The water is so cold, I
got an instant headache.

But you know what's really cool in here?

Looking out the portholes.

But before Adam can unhook the bubbler,
it needs to be in the right position.

Is that good enough?

I think so.

- Will you start to lower it very slowly?
- Will do.

The aim is to get the bubbler
perfectly level, to have an even

spread of bubbles at the surface.

Fire up the generator, please.

Slowly bring it up to the mark.

As the rig roars into life, a perfect
hubbub of bubbles bursts forth.

It's a gorgeous stream of bubbles.

Can't wait to get into it.

With their fully functioning rig
in the right position, what's next?

This test is pretty much the same as
our small scale experiments, except...

this time we're gonna have
a human hydrometer.

Namely Adam.

Now, we're going to try and weight
him, so he's neutrally buoyant,

and just his head is
floating above the water.

And when we turn the air
on, if he goes up or down,

that will tell us what's really happening.

It's time to sink or swim.

Kari, Tory and Grant are testing the myth

that a dynamite arrow can
split a tree down the middle.

But, so far, it's got the team
well and truly stumped.

Well, the tree is still in one piece.

Yeah, I don't even see a crack.

Today's solution, double the dynamite.

So, this is two times the expl*sives
that we used on the first test.

Let's see if this is enough to
split the tree down the middle.

Arr, we're late, we're late.

All right, Grantie, call it.

So this is splitting a tree with dynamite,

double the expl*sives.

In three, two, one.

Whoa!

Yeah.

That was a good blast.

Well, I say this is looking
pretty bad for the myth.

Yeah, I mean we used twice the
amount of expl*sives as the myth

calls for, and still we did not
get any cleaving whatsoever.

Even with two sticks of modern dynamite,
the tree was left with hardly a scratch.

Let alone a cleave.

And Grant thinks he knows why.

Now, my theory is that
the dynamite is outside,

and when you explode it, all that energy

just gets dissipated away from the tree,

and not where we actually
need it to be focused,

which is right on the trunk
in order to split it.

And, without that focus, the myth,
unlike the tree, is looking busted.

So what's next?

Well, any more expl*sives
strapped to that arrow

it's gonna mess with the aerodynamics,
there's no way it's gonna fly.

So why don't we just push an arrow into
the tree, put as many expl*sives on it

as J.D. will allow, and just
see if we can get anything.

Now you're talking.

For round three, the MythBusters
are going g*ng busters.

Strapping an arrow with as much
dynamite as can be crammed on,

but too much for it to actually fly.

So how much is too much?

J.D. says the amount we can use
out here is six sticks of dynamite.

Is that gonna split the
tree down the middle?

I don't know.

But we're gonna get a big bang.

Six drops of essence of terror.

Five drops of sinister sauce.

With the mother of all expl*sive arrows
prepped and embedded in the tree...

The mega-arrow is in place.

...the team is taking no chances.

They'll hunker in the bunker,

because this is going to be big.

Fire in the hole!

This is splitting the tree
with dynamite, six sticks.

In three, two, one.

That was a good expl*si*n.

Let's see if we split the tree.

I don't think so.

We rattled the bunker.

There's just no timber on the timber.

Even with six sticks of
dynamite, the shock wave

barely scratches the surface,
let alone causes a cleave.

So, it's back to the drawing board.

So right now this myth is looking busted.

We used one stick of dynamite,
two sticks of dynamite,

finally six sticks of dynamite and
it was not enough to split the tree

at the middle, like the myth talked about.

But, this is MythBusters.

We're gonna go deeper,

not stop here, we're gonna figure out

is there a way to use nothing
but expl*sives to split that tree.

Next up, Adam, the human hydrometer.

Like riding a bucking bronco.

But, will he sink without a trace?

In "Bubble Trouble", Adam is
about to find out if decreasing

the density of water with air means
you'll sink without a trace.

And to do that, Adam's ditched the
scuba tank and turned himself

into a neutrally buoyant human hydrometer.

My wet suit makes me quite floatacious.

I'm overly buoyant, so I'm putting weights

around my waist, so that
I will be neutrally buoyant.

Ideally, floating right around here.

Then, we'll be able to see the best effect
that the bubbles might have on you.

All right, let's try it.

I think that's perfect.

It's a simple test.

Let's fire up the compressor.

When Jamie turns on the bubbler, if
Adam sinks, the myth is looking good.

Okay, open the valve to the mark please.

Here they come!

With the bubbles on, Adam does go under.

But not quite as planned.

He first gets pushed to the side
and only then does he sink.

I'll tell you, it's not making
me sink like a stone.

But it is creating this
really strong current

that is throwing me to the side

and I feel like it is dragging
me down a little bit.

You don't seem to be
able to stay right there.

No, I definitely can't stay on top of this.

It's very, very... it's a
super strong push. And if I...

"...get pushed to the side I get dragged
under" is what he was going to say.

It seems Adam is being lifted up and away

from the central column of bubbles,

and then, just like a convection current,

there's a downward draft at the outer edge.

Where to from here?

Well, I think if we're seeing
this kind of effect

where it's an upwelling that
drags me down on the outside,

let's turn it up and see if the
effect gets more pronounced.

My kind of thinking.

Of course, it's the one instruction
that fits all mythbusting occasions.

Ramp it up.

And as they turn it up again...

Let's, er, move it up another notch.

The bigger current pushes
Adam to the side faster.

I'm on top of the bubbles!

In fact, the upwelling of water
associated with the rising bubbles...

The current is really strong!

...is pushing him upwards
until he reaches the sides,

leaving just one further test.

We need more power, Scottie!

Jamie just made a Star Trek
reference! Awesome!

And with the compressor giving us all she's got...

Like riding a bucking bronco!

Jamie and Adam are ready to wrap it up.

I don't feel like we can call
it on the basis of this tank.

I think it's actually too small.

This current being everything,
it sort of overwhelms

the original story, which is about bubbles.

So, I feel like we need to create
more bubbles in a much bigger space.

The myth is you can't swim in bubbles.

There is no swimming going on in there,

it's treading.

We need to go someplace we can
do some... some swimming.

The close proximity of the tank's walls
has rendered the results unreliable.

To truly test the myth, they'll need
somewhere with much more room

to make a splash in.

This was a great test.

It was also an excellent proof of
concept for my prototype bubble maker.

It put thing in a human scale
and showed us a lot about

bubbles and how they interact with water.

But given that this myth is about
swimming and bubbles, to test it

properly, we're gonna have
to go up yet more in the scale.

After three big booms, the
myth of a dynamite axe is, well...


gonna split a tree

using one stick of dynamite,
let alone six sticks of dynamite.

Yeah, all the energy is going
outward, it's completely external.

I think to actually cleave the tree
you need something inside.

All right, what if we tried
reconfiguring the expl*sives,

get it closer to the core, maybe that
will split the tree up the middle.

Yeah, let's go to a smaller scale,
so we can experiment

with different kinds of expl*sives.

Great idea.

Much as they love blowing
things up, this myth is about

dividing the tree, not destroying it.

So in small scale, the guys are
going to start by putting

two expl*sives head to head.

The first type is TNT, or trinitrotoluene.

And this is a faster moving,
more tearing expl*sive.

The other kind of expl*sive we're gonna
be using is Anfo; that is a slower

moving expl*sive, but it
has more pushing power.

We're gonna see if either of those
is able to split our tree

up the middle, just like the myth.

But switching the expl*sives and
using tiny quantities aren't

the only changes they're
drilling down for this test.

So what we've done here is solve
what I think is the biggest

problem of our previous test,
which is getting the expl*sive

to where it needs to be, which
is the strength of the tree,

the core, the hardwood.

But, will this internal
placement cause the cleave

that dynamite arrow couldn't?

Well, to find out, they're
starting by embedding

expl*sive one: the TNT.

Smoke!

All right, this is TNT in
the looney pine tree.

Let's do it.

It is a tense way for
the fuse to burn down.

Until...

It might have had "the boom"...

but did it give the team
the kind of break they need?

I see some cracking going on,

but not what I would call a split.

Yeah, it seems like it's shredding
more than anything.

Tory's on the money.

Traveling at more than 21,000 feet
per second, the shock wave

from the TNT simply ripped
the tree to pieces.

Will there low velocity
expl*sive do any better?

This is Anfo, which stands for
ammonium nitrate fuel oil.

It's a lower velocity expl*sive
than TNT, which means it has

a higher likelihood of
actually splitting the tree

without shredding it.

What I've just done is cut some vertical
grooves in the bark of the tree.

That way we can lay up our
expl*sives along the grain,

the vascular bundles of the tree.

'Cause what's happening right now,
is we have an expl*sive at the base

and it is cross cutting.

What we want is a vertical split.

So this way we put the expl*sives
up the line of the tree,

and that force punches
through, and hopefully

we get that vertical split
that we're looking for.

All right, the grooves are loaded.

We're going hot.

All right, we're lit.

Okay.

So this is cutting a tree in half
with expl*sives, zipper technique.

It didn't go completely to plan.

But at least the team gets slightly
more than a toppled trunk.

It's kind of a split
in the right direction.

Wow!

That is definitely a better technique.

Finally, we got a split.

Of sorts.

It's still not the clean cleave
they wanted, but promising enough

to warrant one more go at
a mighty grand finale.

What did we do right?

Well, on this test we got
our expl*sive in a line

that's parallel to the grain of the tree.

Instead of focussing on one spot,
we went all the way up the tree,

and I think that is what
made the difference.

Now, this is a small tree.

But that's fine, we proved
the concept here.

Now it's time for us to go onto
a big tree, and try it full scale.

Coming up, almost a ton
of run-away rogue steel

heading Adam's way.

This is where things get dangerous.

So far, bubble trouble
is looking like a bust.

Wow, I feel that totally lifted me!

But Adam and Jamie aren't done yet.

Ow!

I took a pin in the leg.

To put this myth to bed,
they're going to sink or swim

in a full size pool
with a super size bubbler.

One that's four feet
wide and 16 feet long.

And to get job done in double
time, Jamie welds the massive

steel frame, while Adam sews
the giant canvas bubbler bag.

Well, based on what we
saw at the big tank,

this new bladder ought to be
perfect for the swimming pool.

Do you know what it looks like?

It looks like the world's
largest whoopi cushion.

With both bubbler components ready to roll,

the truck gets loaded and locked.

So, the myth is that it is impossible
to swim in bubbly water.

And so far we've tested that
in small scale, in a fish tank...

It's not sinking.

and in a 10,000 gallon irrigation tank
in what is now only medium scale.

I'm on top of the bubbles!

In both cases we found evidence
of upwelling and currents.

It really makes us feel like we
haven't fully answered this question,

so now it is time for mondo scale.

Full time swimming pool.

Yeah. That's it.

We've built a bubbler that will
give us a swath of bubbles

four feet wide and 16 feet long.

I'm going to get in it
and see if I can swim.

Yeah.

We recognize that you have a
choice of myths and we thank you

for flying "MythBusters."

That's nice and stable.

Remember those little fish
tank bubblers and then that

little bag that I tested out in the shop?

That's not bad.

Well...

this is the final result
of all that testing.

The granddaddy bubbler.

We've got I-beams on it to hold
it down against the flotation,

we've got a massive steel frame,
the big bladder and not one,

but two air pumps to supply
all the air we need.

We drop it in the pool...

and you've got yourself
a big-a*s bubbler.

It's big, but will it be big enough to
eliminate those supposed edge effects?

Well, to find out, Adam, designated
to do the wet work, goes under

to guide it into position
and make sure it's level.

It's within one or two degrees to
level and I'm inclined to start up

the pump and see what it looks like.

I'm on it.

Okay.

Okay, go ahead and let some air in.

With the air pump on, things
seem to be proceeding smoothly.

Until...

Cut the air!

Luckily, Adam was clear of the
rig when it made an unexpected

and dangerous break for the surface.

And make no mistake,
despite the muffled noise

and sub-aqua slow motion,
that was 1,600 pounds

of run-away rogue steel.

Not enough weight?

Not enough weight.

The whole thing started to float.

Well, that's a...

Bummer.

...but the solution is simple.

It could simply be a matter of just placing
the barbell weights in the corners.

Well, that's why we brought the barbells.

I'll start to break them out.

With an additional 100
pounds on each corner,

totalling 2,000 pounds, surely
they've got this covered.

Cue test number two.

I see little bubbles starting to come up.

And at first it all seems to
be working beautifully.

But once again, the astonishing
force exerted by the buoyancy

of the trapped air is evident.

Stop.

Cut the air.

And that's another...

Bummer.

Yeah.

It was looking so good.

It was looking so good, but
now the whole rig [ bleep ].

Yeah.

So far the team has selected
option F for "failure".

But it takes more than 2,000
pounds of runaway steel to throw

the "MythBusters" off their game.

This is just a minor setback,

all we need are heavier I-beams
or bars of steel of some sort

to put on this thing. We'll
be able to weight it down.

We'll fix it.

Look, when you want to rescue big
things from the bottom of a body

of water, you use what
are called lift bags.

These are air-tight canvas bags

you fill with air, and the air
lifts stuff off the bottom.

What we've essentially made
here is a captured air bladder.

And we're trying to keep it on
the bottom, which is proving more

of a challenge than we surmised.

That's a workout, huh!

[ bleep ].

This is where things get dangerous,

late in the day.

Let's test it out.

Yeah.

Right in place?

Yeah.

I'm gonna stay far away from
this rig while you pressurize it.

Their first unsuccessful test of the
rig weighted in at 1,600 pounds.

This time they've got 4,200.

But, will this be enough?

There they come.

Yeah, baby!

So, that may have been about halfway.

That's perfect.

Nothing is budging.

It looks gorgeous.

Excellent.

So, we had a few bugs to work out.

So sue me.

We added more weight.

It took care of the buoyancy
problem, and we're all tested.

Good to go.

I think we're ready for tomorrow.

Next, the big bang on the
mother of all pine trees.

That is one big tree.

Fire!

Now, we've already busted the myth
that you can use a dynamite

arrow to split a tree in two.

But, we wanted to find out if you can use

expl*sives to create that perfect cleave.

So, we did a few experiments.

We tried TNT, we tried Anfo.

As you can see, it didn't quite
work from a singular point.

So, we went and took it one step further.

We made sort of a a zipper,
by perforating the tree

with little slots and
filling them with Anfo.

And we did get a split.

So now, it's time to take it to full scale.

We've come out to the forest, to make
a tree split "MythBusters style".

Doing it "MythBusters style" means
driving to an isolated tree farm...

Man, this is way out there, isn't it?

...and blowing the biggest tree they can see,

with a technique they... sort
of perfected in small scale.

It's like a winter wonderland down here.

You can't see the trees for the forest.

Here's the tree.

Wow!

That's one big tree.

Definitely.

This is a 100-foot tall Ponderosa pine.

Now, you might be a little
freaked out that we're using

a perfectly good tree in our experiment.

But it's already been earmarked for lumber,

and it will be recycled at
the end of the experiment.

Depending on how successful
we are, that'll either be lumber,

or, if we manage to split it, fire wood.

Given their early results, splitting this
tall tree seems like an even taller order.

But Tory for one is confident.

Now, we learned from our small scale
that Anfo was the best type of expl*sive.

It was slower moving, more pushy.

And, what we also learned is
cutting grooves along the vertical

of the tree will give us a better
chance of splitting the tree.

So we're going to do just that.

We're gonna cut a bunch of
grooves up the length of the tree,

so that way the force of
the expl*si*n is vertical,

and hopefully we can replicate the results.

In other words, going big
means thinking small.

Cutting lots of vertical slots near the
core to house small bags of "boom".

All right, so we finished cutting


Now what we're going to do is
we're gonna fill those slots with Anfo,

ignite them and see if we can
split this tree up the middle.

But first, they need to
do a serious calculation

of just how much bang
they need for their buck.

Okay, now when you usually see
expl*sives into the MythBusters scene,

you're used to seeing mass
quantities, like the 850 pounds

we used in the cement truck.

Now for this experiment, we actually want
a pushing rather than a huge destruction.

So we're only gonna use
about 25 pounds of Anfo,

in small bags, strung evenly
up the side of the tree.

That way, hopefully we
get a nice clean cleave.

It's a delicate operation.

Too much Anfo, and the
tree will be blown apart.

Too little, and the expl*sive
may not even detonate.

All right.

So one pound bags.

One pound bags.

Luckily, b*mb expert Frank is on
hand to take charge of the charge.

What do you think, Frank?

Am I going to be able to join
the b*mb squad after this?

We're signing you up right now.

All right.

Ready to decorate the tree?

Ready to wire in.

Anfo?

There you go.

Working somewhat gingerly, Kari
and Grant carefully place

the 25 one pound bags
along the entire trunk.

You know what? The sap is a natural
adhesive to holding the bags in.

So add wiring expl*sives
at heights to my resume.

All right, you're done?

I'm done.

And, as the saying goes...

Let's make like a tree and leave.

Going down on this level, we have
expl*sives, timber and ladies' lingerie.

Hey, this is the very last bag
of expl*sives going in the tree.

We've wired them all the way up.

I think we might have a shot at this one.

I mean, we've given it all the
advantage we possibly could,

using this nice low velocity expl*sive,

we've given it a perforation, so
that it could go really really well,

I think we might get a nice, clean split.

But the guys, on the
other hand, aren't so sure.

So, do I think the tree is gonna split?

There's a lot of factors that go into it.

Too much expl*sive, too little,
the weight of the branches...

Given all that, I think
we are gonna get a split.

Maybe not super clean,
but it's gonna split.

Looking at all this Anfo,
and this tree, I have a feeling

we're just gonna blow this
tree in a bunch of pieces.

Yeah, this looks safe enough here.

All right.

I guess we're all set. Are you guys ready?

I'm so ready.

Fire in the hole!

Fire in the hole!

Okay, so this is splitting
a tree with Anfo.

Here we go.

In three, two, one!

After the break, sink or swim
in the mythical fable of fizz.

Swim harder.

So, do you want to know why we did what
we did and didn't do what we didn't do?

Well, go to
discovery.com/mythbustersaftershow

and watch our aftershow!

Keep those questions and
comments coming in.

After double trouble with the bubbler...

Cut the air.

Adam and Jamie are ready to test the myth

that it's impossible to
swim in bubbly water.

Okay, swimming with bubbles.

In three, two, one, go!

On the first lap, displaying all of
his exemplary style and technique,

Adam powers through the bubbles.

But on the way back, it is not so easy.

Just like the small scale
tests, the upwelling current

pushes him to the side and outweighs

any effect the lower density may have.

Okay.

At this stage it seems the
myth that it is impossible

to swim in bubbly water
is pretty much busted.

It does, however, seem to be more difficult

to swim in bubbky water, and
the timings we've been taking

from my testing seem to bear that out.

So, given that there might be
a grain of truth to this story,

that it might be more difficult, but
not impossible, to swim in bubbly water,

we're gonna ramp it up as far as we can go,

and see if we can't make that
artifact more pronounced.

We've done our testing at one
quarter compressor capacity.

And the results were interesting,
but perhaps not conclusive.

So, I think now it's time to ramp it up.

That's more like it.

And that means we're gonna go
full power with those compressors.

We'll see what happens.

Wow. That's a lot of bubbles!

You ready?

Ready.

All right.

Full scale bubble test.

In three, two, one, go!

With the dial turned to 11, the forces
Adam has to deal with are clearly evident.

Despite looking quite serene below,

it'ts a broiling, frothing
volcano at the surface.

And the current is just too
strong to swim across.

Swin harder!

Meaning, in this case, it
is impossible to swim in.

Like any good myth, this one has
a grain of truth in its heart.

And that is that when
you mix air with water,

it is going to make that water less dense.

The thing is that by taking it to
ridiculous extremes like we have...

You're just not trying hard enough.

Stop screwing around.

...that decrease in density
relative to its surroundings

causes an upwelling and a
very vigorous current, in fact.

That current is so vigorous,
that it makes it

virtually impossible to swim through.

I swallowed some water.

After small scale, medium scale,
and full scale, it wasn't

until super full scale that they got
the result they were looking for.

And Adam for one is buoyant.

This myth is a letter perfect case
for why I love doing this show.

We started out with the myth about it being
impossible to swim in bubbly water.

The conventional wisdom being
that bubbles make the water less

dense and thus you would sink,
when in fact it turns out that

the bubbles create this churning upwelling
of current as they rise to the surface,

and it is the current, and not the
bubbles, that makes it in fact

impossible to swim in bubbly water.

I love being surprised
by results like that.

That's pretty neat.

We had a build that it was
more difficult than we thought,

a surprise ending and a myth
that is, I gotta say, plausible,

but not for the reasons
we originally thought.

And bubbly water is kind
of festive, isn't it?

Yes, yes, it is.

Busting the myth of the expl*sive
tree split has been a bit of a misfire.

From big scale failure...

The tree is still in one piece.

To some small scale success.

Wow!

That is definitely a better technique.

But now, the moment of truth.

Here we go.

To replicate the results of this myth,
it all comes down to this one-shot wonder.

One monster pine tree filled
with 25 bags of expl*sives.

They're using the smallest amount
of Anfo that will still detonate.

But, will it be small enough?

In three, two, one!

Fire!

Wow!

That was a good one.

Well, the tree is down.

Let's go see if it split.

If there's anything left of it.

Wow!

Well, what's clear is the Anfo detonated.

But what is not clear is
what happened to the tree.

Wow.

There are bits of tree everywhere.

With the smoke gone, it's
bad news for the myth.

Instead of a split, the tree has been diced

into a nice pile of
kindling for Bear Grylls.

The result that we were
looking for for this experiment

was two pieces, one left, one right,
split right down the middle.

What we got was 200 pieces.

The tree shattered all over the forest.

There's bits everywhere.

It turns out the Anfo was just too much,

even at the minimum amount to detonate,

to sustain that crack all
the way to the top.

And that leaves only one conclusion.

All right, no matter how you look
at this myth, this one is busted.

Busted.

Busted.

But at least we have all this
firewood and kindling now.

This isn't a split. This is a shatter.

The tree and the myth are both shattered.

And let's face it, if this
method didn't work,

then a dynamite arrow is
not even a long shot.

All right, I've got some seedlings.

Okay.

The myth might be busted...

Let's do our part.

...but at least the team has given
something back to the forest.

Sort of a strange
MythBusters circle of life.

I think it's a good deal for the
forest, I mean three for one.