The Air Cylinder Rocket Test! | MythBusters | Season 4 Episode 24 | Full Episode

Adam and Jamie test the myth known to every high school metal shop teacher: can a cracked valve on a compressed-air cylinder actually blast the tank right through a cinder-block wall?
Using science as a tool, Hollywood special effects experts attempt to debunk rumours, urban legends and popular myths that have captivated the minds of many individuals.
#MythBusters #FactOrFiction

[@TooHuman]

Unironically, one of the best things of my year has been the uploads of Mythbusters to KZbin ❤️

[@borntoclimb7116]

Total agree

[@wustenfuchsgaming1226]

Was damn Time

[@comradeurod9805]

​@wustenfuchsgaming1226 you'd think whoever owns the episodes now wouldnt wanna miss out on that little bit of youtube money

[@gabrielv.4358]

They were available before, they were deleted!!! Just like the Storm Chasers videos!!

[@Dabeyoun]

Hope things get better mate.

[@CaptainAndroc]

What a glorious alternate future we missed out on where cars could suffer catastrophic magazine detonations

[@michaldvorak1]

Loved Adam's reaction to Jamie's geese joke. 😀 "Was that a joke?! I think that was a joke! [pause] Fascinating!"

[@mytube001]

24:53 Probably another instance of the infamous producer instigating bad behavior for "better television", like the electric shock Adam got from the golden statue.

[@ToabyToastbrot]

feels a bit like it

[@sebastianahrens2385]

Yeah, there's genuine Tory moments like the bike jump, and then there's this. Good thing is, most people seem to know it's producer interference, and not Tory being an ass.

[@JMMC1005]

Yeah, deafening someone who wasn't expecting to need ear protection is a massive dick move. The appeal of the show was largely down to the positive dynamic between the hosts - artificial TV 'drama' was not what the audience wanted.

[@comradeurod9805]

​@JMMC1005 i always loved the show for the fact that they seemed genuine. And Adam and Jamie being upfront about not liking each other but putting that aside to work in an amicable and professional way really was one of the things that made it shine

[@apawhite]

I'd honestly be surprised if they didn't receive a stern warning from their Bomb Squad friends after that - if you're not prepared to be responsible with explosives, the risk you present to the professionals jumps dramatically.

[@hemandy94]

I have been waiting for this episode... I can't wait for the 22,000 feet drop episode. That is the one I am most excited for.

[@lastburning]

25:20 As someone with chronic tinnitus, I know that pranks like that are not OK! It can really ruin someone's quality of life! Hearing protection should be taken seriously. Same thing with air horns and whatnot.

[@HyaghoMiranda]

25:09 u can see that Grant was legit mad. He had his fists closed for a second, but he remembered he was on camera hahaa

[@gabrielv.4358]

F

[@babacheif]

“Can you feel that?the vaccume is pulling me in” *”Yep,it sure does suck” 😂

[@ProgNoizesB]

pretty stupid

[@DanielsGameVault]

20:49 Adam's laughter there :))))))

[@borntoclimb7116]

Air Cylinder Rocket and the Blackpowder Motor are two Classic, nice Episode.

[@rickcs7050]

20:54 that's agent walrus's favorite phrase "It was the lard that did it" /:€

[@Roger-wt8xp]

The thing about lawnmower engines is that the grass cutting blades act as the flywheel. The flywheel keeps the engine rotating between ignitions as well as smoothing out the action of the engine. If you take those blades off, you have less to work with than if you used an internal combustion engine from any other application.

[@UnitSe7en]

The thing about MB is that they're not scientists or engineers, they're entertainers LARPing as scientists - And convincing everyone else that they know what they're doing and their results are valid, too.

[@wackachuisthelordandsavior1954]

​@@UnitSe7en they used to do practical effects. One if the requirment for large scale practicals is engineering experience. That said, you are kinda right. They are entertainers first, actual engineers second. They focus more on flash than they should and it leads to missing simple solutions.

[@ronhastings8439]

also should they use a 2 Strock engine, another way of doing it would be to use shot gun shells with a lower charge, would take hundreds of them to run an engine, but would be good delivery system. i do think it is possible with some decent engineering

[@suliemanalfuhaid1447]

They should have added a diverging nozzle to the air cylinders in the first configuration, would have given way more thrust

[@wuzzy41123]

20:00 "Calm, steady words from a man who's hoping to launch a gas cylinder into the next county." Welp, that didn't really age well in hindsight...

[@Idiomatick]

?

[@resurgam_b7]

@@Idiomatick Look up their cannonball accident. An errant shot from a cannon on the bomb range sent the ball through a house and some other stuff almost half a mile away. Thankfully nobody was injured.

[@asdqwe4468]

It's nonsense that black powder has higher energy density than gasoline. Most people think explosives have higher energy density which is rarely true. It just combusts a lot quicker.

[@tsm688]

your figures are off. Include the weight of oxygen in the density and the apparent advantage of oxidizerless fuels goes way down.

[@JMMC1005]

​@@tsm688 That doesn't make them wrong, though. Oxidizer is 'dead mass' when it comes to energy density, but it's part of black powder's composition. The fact that gasoline is stealing its oxidizer from the air is irrelevant unless you're trying to build an engine that runs in space.

[@teresashinkansen9402]

Probably they mixed up power density with energy density.

[@gabrielv.4358]

So if you mix gunpowder with fuel the extra air it has on the gunpowder WILL incraese engine power

[@tsm688]

@@JMMC1005 it is absolutely not "dead mass". Neither gunpowder nor gasoline will do fuck-all without their oxygen. But the oxygen is counted as part of the weight for gunpowder, and *not* for gasoline. This is an artificial inflation of the numbers in favour of gasoline.

[@maltesefalcon85]

instead of the valves into the water they could have had the air pressure firing at a paddle wheel pushing them forward

[@robinbrowne5419]

But this is Mythbusters 🙂

[@karenglenn6707]

My favourites are the episodes with the hot water heater explosions. I can watch those episodes over and over again and still feel happiness every time!

[@DungeonBricks]

Carastrophic failures proven right is easily my favorite brand of MB

[@kyuofcosmic]

Tori’s engine looks wheely good

[@jocax188723]

I think if you'd have gotten the boat on plane before rocketing off, it might have worked better. As we know, water surface friction at low speed is a pain, and speed gets easier once you get past that.

[@bazra19]

Regarding the boat they should extend a rudder as far behind the Stearn as possible, say 6 to 8 feet. so that if one cylinder only fires, the boat will not go around in cycles.

[@sazogrim7313]

Isn't an automatic rifle a black powder engine with a high velocity exhaust pipe?

[@comradeurod9805]

Ehhhhhhhh Black Powder doesn't really lend itself to this kind of engineering because of fowling, dirt from the burnt powder will collect in the barrel, eventually hardening it the barrel(and therefore and obstructing it) or it would just corrode the metal if not cleaned. Only as modern smokeless powder came around did people start experimenting with self loading firearms, partially because of the higher pressure curves of smokeless powder.

[@sazogrim7313]

@@comradeurod9805 so it could theoretically run for a few cycles at least, more than they got with the old designs or the modern engine

[@zhehui]

I have a problem with this tank "missile". the wall is bot built up to a standard concrete wall. You can see that there is no cement poured in between the cinder blocks.

[@GCCG76]

I was sweating just seeing Adam on a leather jacket in a beautiful sunny day!😅

[@sergiozammel8261]

I just love Adam's reactions and he just cracks me up ! great guys, all of them, Grant's passing was very sad > RIP. Just a great science show !

[@jasonyoung7705]

A few years ago, Richard Hammond did a documentary, "Gunpowder plot, exploding the legend", to see if the explosion would have worked. it was really good, worth a watch. Anyway, I always thought it was in MythBusters wheelhouse, and I cant help wondering how it would have gone if MythBusters had been involved.

[@NorrisHistoryCorner]

He also did a show called Brainiac which was very mythbusters-esque, don't know why I didn't watch more of it at the time.

[@jasonyoung7705]

@@NorrisHistoryCorner Yeah, Science abuse too. I did have a thing for professor miang-li (Rachel Grant).

[@comradeurod9805]

HAMMONNNNND

[@gabrielv.4358]

Never expected hammond to do explosions

[@ThomasStevensontutor]

Adam: “Well that didn’t work, so what would it take to blow up Parliament?” Jamie: “Only one way to find out!” as they board the plane to London.

[@yourmimic1184]

R.i.p grant.

[@kommonsense7711]

Those block pockets aren't even filled in

[@TooHuman]

29:07 holy shit that joke was dark 😅

[@DarkGodSeti]

14:04 Haha good timing on my parts. 😏 (Building number)

[@Not-TheOne]

ah man, @25:10 was brilliant! Tori's expression was golden, he didnt expect that reaction....neither did I. Grant was like, what did you do? looool

[@frizzlethecat2084]

I have such a competence-kink. Could watch them actually design and plan and build something all day!

[@walksonland1977]

I recall when Jamie got that black eye, from the hand winch experiment in the superhero episode. I remember wincing!

[@johannesdatblue4164]

DAMNIT my gunpowder pump and injector are clogged again xD

[@MrMarinus18]

16:00 Engineers at the time had this obsession with a vacuum. The first steam engines also worked on that principle even though high pressure has far more power and doesn't require nearly as good seals.

[@tesos2866]

Not enough delta v for the boat

[@LocPH.]

Black powder is not more energy-dense than gasoline. Much less in fact, around 7 times lower. Energy is not the same as power. If your engine runs with air (which it did in all your variants) it's better to use only the carbon in black powder as fuel, you don't need the oxidizer and catalyst. Diesel engines running on carbon powder have been built and run successfully, but suffered from poor emissions and poor reliability. I guess you could convert these engines to run on black powder but there's not much point in doing that.

[@Huvada]

Grant: “don’t say anything” as he’s wearing an embarrassing suit. Editors: puts it in the intro so it’s part of every episode.

[@Rincypoopoo]

Funny. In Spain we can lay the blocks the other way up for a fast light wall, cavity up for filled blocks. Heavy wall.

[@alan2here]

Not quite like in Gary's Mod, but similar :)

[@yspegel]

To put the air outlet under water; good idea. To put the air output level with the boat; bad idea. To get some distance/speed you want the boat to stay level with the water instead of the front to come up, the rear will become a big break. Put the air outlet pointing slightly down or use an extra rudder to keep the boat level.

[@ozztelorman7057]

Since the key to the thermodynamic cycles of combustion engines is the "adiabatic process" (no heat and particle transfer); the lack of latent heat (phase transition) prevents gunpowder engines to complete a full cycle. Steam engines on the other hand, use an expanding medium (steam) to create an enthalpy change in order to keep the reaction going.

[@nickyoung9108]

Wonder if this episode was done before the release of 007 Die Another Day, coz that was what Pierce Brosnan did in the lab in Cuba chasing Jinx.

[@Hellforsa]

Man i miss this show. Loved this as a teenager

[@JohnJackson-mn4ts]

I take it they have never played with an office chair and a CO2 fire extinguisher?

[@deezelfairy]

With high pressure cylinders like oxygen tanks the stories of them flying through two walls and being found several hundred yards away are usually when they've been involved in a fire. Imagine a 3000psi oxygen cylinder thats been slowly brewing in workshop fire thats now overpressured to maybe 5-6K psi when something falls on on it inside the burning building - really conceivable they could get some serious air time. The incident i remember as kid was a fire in a mechanics workshop - an oxygen bottle flew through the cinderblock wall into the joinery shop next door (leading to burning the joinery shop out to), out the wall of the joinery shop, over a small river into the bottom of someones garden. Total distance maybe 150-200 yards?

[@jackholliday5236]

Maybe if the block wall done properly, with virtual rio bar and concrete poured within the blocks to core fill them… 🤷‍♂️

[@chocoslice92]

How good are the older seasons of mythbusters

[@3Gfotos]

Adam, out of bed and into the studio :D

[@GodlikeIridium]

3:00 forget the building... That doesn't help... You want to be a minimum of 10 km away from it.

[@mrdr9534]

"a grain which is 1 /500th of a (*Troy) ounce..." which should NOT to be confused with the ""standard"" Ounce in which case a grain only is approximately 1/437th of an "ounce". Or to put it another way a grain is approximately 1/27th och a Drachm (*dram), which in turn is about 1/16th of an "ounce", which is 1/16th of a Pound, which OF COURSE is 1/14th of a Stone. Ziimples... It's so good to have a """system""" ;)

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

Numerous other mentions of gunpowder engines, but it does not appear any were used operationally.

[@bazra19]

They are foolish children. Leaving a gap between the doors during the cylinder valve test is asking for trouble; anything could be blasted through that gap.

[@billmiller4972]

Now do this with 200 bar (2900 PSI) Hydrogen. Harharhar ...

[@ThecRL0]

also love how they enabled the comments so we get to talk about the show

[@SynthfulDuck]

32:48 I think I don't understand this argument, Adam got overexcited with the design but it was in the spirit of Mythbusters.

[@bazra19]

If that guy has a black powder licence, Which I doubt, he should have it taken off of him and booted out of the group. This whole program should be taken down.

[@swedichboy1000]

Should´ve used real bricks instead.

[@user-fl2wn5zr5z]

just a cylinder falling on the floor can cause it to go in a straight line it happen where my uncle worked

[@timthompson7205]

You always have to lube the shaft so you can release the gas 😂

[@user-mi8ef4qd2k]

Have you tried to use the Gas tanks as actual water torpedoes? Strap a pointy edge on it and you have a pretty useful improvised Anti Ship Weapon

[@simplyhard]

Haha! 07:09 They showcase those fragile, brittle, hollow concrete "bricks". I've even seen the modern rogue, Brian Burshwood break those cinder blocks over his head as a part of a magic act. Apparently they are not sturdy at all. Anyways, then the narrator says something like "let's see if the power of this 2600 psi air cylinder-thing can shatter a solid brick wall"... "Solid" "brick" wall.. Built from fragile, brittle, and more importantly: hollow... "bricks".... "Solid" brick wall... Hollow "bricks".. "Solid" brick wall... Hollow "bricks"... You can probably toss a hammer through that "solid" "brick" wall. I wouldn't be surprised if a glued duplo-lego wall of that size would be sturdier. The definition of solid is better used in describing the 40 pound solid steal bar. That's what solid means. Not fragile, brittle, and hollow cinder blocks.

[@rnts08]

MURICA!

[@simplyhard]

Not that I expect an actual, solid brick wall to withstand that impact either, but that myth is still untested 😂

[@calumsanderson6741]

WOW GRANT WAS ANGRY IMMEDIATELY

[@frantisekjanecek1641]

Black powder (and any other explosive) has less energy denisty (1-5 MJ/kg) than gasoline or other fuels (30-40 MJ/kg)

[@leatherman6328]

27:07 Tori getting a little sniff of Kari’s hair?

[@gabrielv.4358]

lel

[@gabrielv.4358]

The Gunpowder inside the engine MIGHT work if you use it mixed with Gasoline, OR Gaseous Fuel (GLP) or something. I WANT A RERUN!!

[@ratkaelzey]

kislux versace bag is so cute

[@TheModifyx]

why they do not use a air-engine to power a propeller? that is the only situation, they not tested.

[@LaLaLand.Germany]

The tank shit happened to a guys dad. He had a tank in his car with the valve directed to the dash. The valve blew, the valve went thru the car and his Dad celebrated brithday twice a year from then on. Don´t mess with gas tanks, kids

[@BabyMakR]

TBF they use these to steer Falcon9 rockets, so they aren't useless.

[@ebenbaker1]

I think the gunpowder engine would work but you would need a gatling gun or sub machine gun foreign blanks into the chamber which is not very cost effective

[@swedichboy1000]

1:42 Which episode is that?

[@michaelmayhem350]

The episode where Adam falls down

[@CarlosPCmx]

I think it's the one with the myth of the executive that broke a window in a high rise office building.

[@Wanton110]

Why not use Black powder pellets? each cycle drops a pellet rather than a measure of powder?

[@SirHorned19]

They gave up so incredibly easily at every obstacle... And then they just straight up bust the myth. Its like they are saying "we couldnt figure it out; so its impossible to do".

[@kyuofcosmic]

@@SirHorned19more like production contraints and no clear way to ignite wet gunpowder got in the way.

[@paulvandenberg9588]

Since when do you add pressures together?

[@stevo68]

The wife of a friend of mine was killed by a fire extinguisher which fell over, flew across the workshop, and hit her in the head.

[@rafaugm]

44:20 Scuba instructor joke

[@renandavidsoriaahumada6093]

i must be Dislexic again i readed Cinder Rocket!!

[@HelixFlame33]

Legendary Episode

[@leoarc1061]

If they wanted to test that old drawing of a black powder engine, a single cylinder 4 stroke engine would've been perfect. One would have to remove 2 valves, attach the cable through the spark plug whole, and weld a cap at the bottom of the cylinder. The piston is already designed to do a pretty good gas seal. To remove mass, material could be milled out from the bottom section of the piston (anything at and/or bellow the wrist pin boss).

[@BradTheThird]

It's weird watching these knowing that Grant's dead.

[@survivalgameexploration5724]

upscaling would be nice

[@TheElly750]

I feel like the black powder "joke" wasn't Tory's idea...

[@trippycat]

Something happened to Jamies eye… Anybody know what? Interesting they didn’t cover it in makeup

[@bytesandbikes]

RIP François Gissy 🚀

[@Wings_of_foam]

19:42 I wonder how Jamie got that black eye?

[@KhoaTran-md5ou]

I think if they can some howlower the noose of the tanks under water the thrust will be me much higher since it pushing again water not air

[@gabrielv.4358]

The boat didnt go fast enough because the air is not good to push boats

[@Barralliccas]

27:06 bro what is he sniffing like that for wtf

[@melo.lucas320]

R.I.P. Grant, you'll be sorely missed.............

[@Wings_of_foam]

No need to write it in every re-upload. Stop with this attention-seeking BS. You are just keeping the wound fresh.

[@Lonely_Soldier]

any ideas as to why Jamie has a bruised eye?

[@Goalsplus]

It's a TV show!

[@martinfox9443]

Can u not make a liquid from black powder then ignite it ....

[@sebastianahrens2385]

5:50 Mass Effect 2 Loading screen music!

[@user-fl2wn5zr5z]

under the water

[@gabrielv.4358]

So i'll run my carburated engine on black powder for extra power

[@marcelgrundmann9539]

1 grain=1/500th of an ounce==??? Grams

[@pepe6666]

im not so sold on the busted black powder engine. i dont think they really went far enough to iron out the problems. we have automatic rifles which reload themselves. they can be considered black powder engines.

[@tiagocf1208]

The problem shows if you would try to keep it running for longer. How do you guarantee the influx of powder is constant? Powder does not flow like a liquid, you either need a carrier gas or for your entire tank and engine must be pretty much vertical all the way to the combustion chamber. Any pieces that make the engine will also be constantly sanded by the flow of powder, high wear and tear is not what you want for something expected to run tens of thousands of miles. Another problem is that gunpowder has its on oxydizer, so an impact in an accident and your 5kg tank became a 5kg bomb in the middle of the city. As a whole, giving people ample access to black gunpowder explosives isnt the best idea in general. If people already do stupid things with fireworks, what would they do when they have access to it by the kilogram?

[@TheMrEvs]

imagine an engine that reloaded like a firearm :)

[@tsm688]

@@tiagocf1208 imagine a system where individual, sealed canisters of fuel + oxidizer + detonator are carried in by some sort of machine. Also, while they don't use cartridges to RUN engines, they absolutely use them to START some engines. (Sometimes. External power assist is better, but when you gotta do it fast...) It literally looks like some sort of high-caliber round with the projectile removed. I agree that as a loose, bulk fuel, gunpowder is nothing but a bomb...

[@kikixchannel]

@@tiagocf1208 Eh...Most of what you said doesn't make sense. 1) This isn't about making a GOOD engine. It's about making a WORKING engine. Once a concept is proven to work, then there's the time to consider on how to make it better. But that's beyond the scope of 'can you make an engine run on gunpowder'. 2) Where did you even get the idea of a car? You do realize that engines have boatload of uses, and most of them are NOT on vehicles, right? What does make sense is that one shouldn't really give people access to large amount of black powder...but really...In America any adult can buy explosives stronger than black powder. Its modern equivalent, the smokeless powder. So that point is also kinda moot, despite actually making sense...

[@gabrielv.4358]

@@tiagocf1208 Just mix the gumpowder with fuel

[@kurtiswatson97]

I love how Tori is just a walking intrusive thought.

[@someguy4708]

eh was not 2 stroke invented back in their time

[@BenKerr1]

Thats not a core filled wall though