All language subtitles for Mythbusters.S13E07.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-NTb_track3_[eng]

Do not try anything
that we are doing

On this episode
at home.

We're what you call
experts.

Narrator: On this episode
of "mythbusters"...

...In a duel to the death,

The team gets graphic,

Grappling six cinematic
ballistic clichés.

[ knuckles crack ]

But which will be
the last myth standing?

Aah!

[ alarm blares ]

[ siren wails ]

[ gasps ]

[ gasps ]

[ growling ]

[ screams ]

Who are the mythbusters?

Adam savage...

It's scientific!

Narrator:
...And jamie hyneman.

That's one of the ugliest things
I've ever seen.

Between them, more than 30 years
of special-effects experience.

Together with kari byron...

It's the scary-go-round.

Narrator:
...Tory belleci...

This is gonna be
so awesome!

...And grant imahara...

Somebody order an explosion?

Narrator: ...They don't
just tell the myths.

They put them to the test.

-- Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Buckle up your bandolier,

Because this is
"bullet baloney."

[ gunfire ]

[ squeak! ]

In a feast of six sensational
firearm fables...

Aah!

...The team busts out

Their weapons
of mass deduction...

It's for science.

Narrator: ...To uncover
the truth behind the bullets.

[ all scream ]

And the first question
on their quest -- what's first?

[ bullet ricochets ]

I'm thinking
"bent barrel."

You're gonna have
to give me

A little more
to go on than that.

Okay. I've seen it
in a million cartoons.

One character grabs the gun
of another character

And bends it, hoping
to neutralize the weapon,

But it still fires.

So we can, like, shoot
around corners and stuff?

Maybe. If it works,
that might be possible.

Sounds like fun.

When a cartoon character
nonchalantly bends the barrel,

The gun always seems
to fire just fine,

Albeit with an appropriately
twisted trajectory.

But wouldn't the rifle's
finely balanced ballistics

Actually be,
well, all bent out of shape?

So, what's the plan?

The plan, I think,
is pretty elaborate,

So see if you
can follow along.

I think what we should do is
get a gun with a barrel,

Remove the barrel,

And -- wait for it --

We bend it.

Whoo!

Yeah! I love this
problem-solving stuff, man!

Best part of this job.

[ laughs ]

Genius.

Thanks.

As adam "savant" savage
said...

More.

...It's a pretty simple plan.

Awesome.

And at the yolo county
bomb range,

They're all set to bend it
like gunbusters.

You got it coming
to you, man!

We already know
that it's possible

To shoot a gun
with a bent barrel.

The nazis did it
in world war ii

With a thing they called
the krummlauf.

But the krummlauf was engineered
specifically for that purpose.

What we want to find out is

If we can take an normal gun
like this one

And bend the barrel and have it
work well enough

To shoot around corners.

Yep, will an ad-hoc
cartoon curl...

Loaded.
Range is hot.

...Really leave you with
a fully functional firearm?

Ready when you are, sir.

Well, first up to find out is
a straight-shooting control.

In three...

How far into a block
of ballistics gel...

...Two...

...Will the bullet
penetrate?

...One.

There you go.
That was neat and pretty.

Let's go check it out.
Okay.

And the benchmark is
a through-and-through

And, uh, through again?

[ laughs ]
this is funny.

It actually went all the way
through it,

Hit our
bullet-resistant glass,

And bounced back
in the ballistics gel

About an inch
and a half.

It went, "doink, doink!"

So, to bend our barrels,

We figure
we're gonna heat it up first

To make it more malleable.

That means getting it, like,
red or cherry-red hot.

And to do that, we've got
a sword forge,

Which, for some reason,
adam just happened to have.

I didn't just happen
to have it,

I -- since I've always wanted
to learn sword-making,

I've been admiring
these sword forges for a while,

And I was looking for an excuse
to buy one,

And this episode was
a perfect excuse.

So I didn't just happen to have
one, I happened to want one.

Of course you did.

[ laughs ]
let's fire it up.

Okay.

Adam: So, what exactly
is a sword forge?

As its name implies,
it is a forge...

Perfect.

...An extremely hot oven,
in the thousands of degrees,

For manipulating metal
for making swords.

Here we go.

In a few minutes,
we should have

Some delicious gun barrel
to eat.

And it's perfect
for our purposes.

[ laughs ]
it's getting there.

It's powered by five gas jets
of propane.

Once that gets cherry-red,

We'll pull it out and bend it
to the angle that we need.

Oh, yeah.

Oh, it's moving!
Look at that!

[ laughs ]
all right?

Narrator:
And with a barrel pulled
to a perfect 45 degrees...

Excellent!
Let's let it cool.

...Then quenched...

Oh.
[ laughing ]

...Prepped and remounted...

[ laughs ]

It just kind of feels funny,
don't it?

It does. It feels funny.

...Here's adam
with a prediction and a plan.

Adam:
I, for one, think that that
bullet's gonna come out...

Here we go.

...At very close to the same
amount of power as before,

And if it does...

Range is hot.

...Well, we're gonna bend
this barrel some more

And see how extreme we can bend
it and still get a bullet out.

All right.
45-degree bent barrel.

In three, two, one --
go.

[ laughs ]
it fired!

Narrator: Fired,
but how successfully?

Oh, look at that.
It went all the way through.

Adam:
It went all the way through,

Bounced off
the bulletproof glass,

And -- look -- landed on top
of our ballistics gel.

That is awesome.

Well, the numbers are in.

Our first control bullet,

Fired from the straight barrel,

Shot out of the barrel
at 1,216 feet per second.

Our second bullet fired
out of this,

The 45-degree angled barrel --
1,131 feet per second.

45 degrees --
still lethal.

Wow! That's a loss of energy
of only 7%.

I'm starting to feel
real optimistic.

Let's bend it some more.

Let's bend it some more.

Narrator: Roll up, roll up.

The mythbusters carnival of
ballistic carnage continues.

Okay, so,
what have we got?

Well, we couldn't do
an entire episode on bullets

Without doing
another installment

Of "what is bulletproof?"

Aah!

Tory: All right.
So, what's the plan?

Actually, we have a
carnival-style shooting gallery

Waiting for us
at the gun range.

[ bells dinging ]

Ooh!
I get to relive my childhood.

[ gunshots ]

Narrator:
Yep, no collection of guns
and ammo would be complete

Without a stroll
down bulletproof lane.

I can see you!

Narrator: Over the years,
the team has uncovered

Some lifesaving surprises.

Holy cramoly.

But lifesaving firearm
folklore...

Fine day
for a shooting gallery.

...Is the gift
that keeps on giving.

We are here at the alameda
county shooting range

To test what is bulletproof.

Now, a lot of these items,
people have said,

Have stopped bullets
and actually saved their lives,

And that is
what we're gonna test.

The best part is,
we have a shooting gallery

To set everything up in!

[ southern accent ]
step right up!

See if you can win a cigar!

[ normal voice ] oh, this is
gonna be so much fun.

Tory: It's the mythbusters
shooting gallery!

Kari: Oh, my god,
this is so awesome!

Grant: That's crazy!

All right.
First item up -- tape measure.

Who gets
to shoot first?

Ooh! Me! Me, me!

Think he wants to go.

I got it. I got it.

This is so cool.

So, I actually have heard
of this one. It goes way back.

Contractor has a tape measure
in his pocket.

He is shot, and the bullet
doesn't make it through,

And protects his heart.

Are you guys
ready?

Ready!

So, we're gonna start out
shooting this with a .22.

If it does make it through,

We're gonna increase
the caliber.

This should be fun.

Narrator: So grant steps on up
and takes aim

To tag one
of the moving tape measures

And test
its bulletproof qualities.

But it takes a few shots
before he gets a direct hit.

[ bell dings ]

Now, how did it fare
at the live-ammunition fair?

Dude, you nailed it!

Grant: Did it make it
all the way through?

No. It didn't go through.
It stopped the .22-caliber.

Right on! Well,
let's move on to the 9
and see what that does.

The tape measure
saved your life!

Narrator:
Success so far, but...

Okay. Ready for 9mm?

Absolutely.
All right.

Narrator: ...A bulletproof
material would be expected

To stop any handgun,
not just a low-velocity .22.

Whoa!
Definitely hit that one.

Narrator: So what happens
when the stakes are up?

It went in there,
but didn't come out!

No way!

9mm. It stopped
a 9mm round.

This is
absolutely astounding.

A .22 didn't make it
through this,

And this is
a regular tape measure.

A 9mm didn't make it through.

This is not a lot
of steel here.

Here we go.

But you know what?

Next up is the .40-caliber.

[ gunshots ]

And, unfortunately...

Nice shot.
Right in the middle!

...I think that's where
the tape measure's gonna lose.

Kari: Oh, yeah!

All right, so, it looks like
the tape measure stopped

A .22, a 9mm,
but not a .40-caliber.

This one is busted.

[ laughs ]
busted.

Narrator:
Coming up on "mythbusters"...

Fat cats and mob hits...

Crazy cartoon curves...

It's kind of handy.

Narrator: ...Deep-fried guns...

Firing a gun in a vacuum.

...And guns in space?

[ gunfire ]

Narrator:
This is "bullet baloney."

[ southern accent ]
come on down to jamie's
house of bent barrels.

Narrator: And the mythbusters
are tackling a bumper pack

Of ballistic mysteries...

Wa-pa!

...And classic
cinematic clichés.

Aah!

So button up
your bulletproof vests...

Ow!

Firing a gun in a vacuum.

...Because there's six myths
to solve.

[ growls ]

[ laughs ]

And with first-up
bent barrel success...

It fired.

...Adam's feeling
real optimistic.

I'm starting
to feel real optimistic.

Narrator: But jamie's noticed
an interesting,

Not so encouraging
ballistic detail.

Barely inches
after leaving the gun,

The bullet has started
to tumble.

So it's being very seriously
affected by this bend.

I don't know
what exactly it's doing,

But I suspect
that it's gonna get worse

The more that we bend
that barrel.

Now, our first bent barrel,
the one bent at 45 degrees,

That was just a dress rehearsal.

That was to test our equipment,

Our machinery,
and our technique.

But this gun --
bent at a 90-degree angle --

This is where the rubber meets
the road.

[ chuckles ]
that's just wrong.

This is, potentially, a gun
that shoots around corners.

And if a bullet comes out
and it's still lethal,

How cool is that?

Also, how illegal is that?

Seriously, has anyone checked
how illegal this is?

Meanwhile,
glass-half-empty hyneman...

Oh, jamie,
this is perfect!

...Thinks the right angle
will be the last right angle

Before things go wrong.

This 90-degree barrel
is the maximum point

That I think that the bullet is
probably gonna come out of.

Loading the gun.
Beyond this,

What it means is that
the bullet's actually having

To go down an opposite path
that it came in on.

All right. Here we go.

At this point, it's just going
off at right angles,

And I think it'll make it.

Shooting bullets
around corners

In three, two, one --
go.

Hey! It hit the ballistics gel,
and the box jumped.

Narrator: Yep, once again,
the box stand jumps

As the bullet penetrates
the ballistics gel.

But does its penetrating power
match up?

Look at that.

That's still
a significant hit.

It is a significant hit.

It's slightly less
than the middle one,

But it went all the way
through the ballistics gel.

That puppy's lethal.

And that's
a conclusive result.

We shot a gun
around a corner!

Adam: Our 90-degree barrel
worked perfectly.

In fact, the bullet
left this barrel

Traveling the exact same speed
as it left the 45-degree barrel.

Now I'm feeling
real optimistic.

On that note,
we'll be right back

After a short word
from our sponsor.

[ southern accent ]
come on down to jamie's
house of bent barrels.

We got a gun that'll shoot
whatever you want.

Duck hunting, fishing --

Heck, it'll shoot things
you can't even see.

Only $19.95.
Curved ammo not included.

Welcome back.

We've been testing the idea

That a gun can suffer
a bent barrel,

Yet still fire its bullets
effectively.

That is awesome.

Emboldened by these results,

We went, then,
to a 90-degree bend

And found that it
absolutely shoots,

With only 7% less energy
than a straight barrel.

We shot a gun
around a corner!

But this isn't enough for us.
No, no, no, no, no.

We now want to bend
this barrel even further

And find the limits...

Here we go.

...Of how effective
a bent barrel can be...

It's say that's good.
That's a nice, gentle bend.

...Or how bent
an effective barrel can be.

I guess both.

135 degrees.
That's a serious bend.

Narrator:
Yep, with a muzzle facing

A comical 135 degrees away
from the barrel's base...

I'm confused.

...If the bullet makes it out
with lethal intent...

Range is hot!

...The myth will have exceeded

Even the most optimistic
expectations.

135-degree bent barrel
in three, two, one!

I saw the box jump!

I guess that means
it came out.

Came out, went in...

Oh! It went all the way
through the gel.

...And, proving its deadly
force, came out again.

That's astonishing to me.

I thought that by the time
we got to 135,

It was gonna be going
halfway through.

To remind you,
with a straight barrel,

The bullet was coming out
at 1,200 feet per second.

Now, with a barrel bent
at 135 degrees,

The bullet's coming out
at 1,050 feet per second.

Now, that's not a whole lot
of reduction.

Who would have thought it?

Narrator: According to an
earlier prediction, not jamie.

Question is, can the gun
confound all expectations

And go the full comedy curve?

This barrel is going
all the way -- 180 degrees.

This gun that we're
about to put together

Will shoot the guy
who's holding it

Or someone standing behind him.

[ grunts ]

Almost. Almost there.

That's it!

That's pretty much it.

That's beautiful!

Narrator: Beautiful? Sure.

Absurd? Without doubt.

[ chuckles ]

It's kind of handy.

Narrator:
But will it be deadly?

Adam: After witnessing
the 45-degree bend,

The 90-degree bend,
and the 135-degree bend,

I think this is gonna work!

I think a lethal bullet

Is going to exit this barrel
when we fire it.

And that's pretty amazing.

Gun is hot.

But let's find out.

This is it,
for the money.

Jamie: [ chuckles ]
here we go.

The gun that shoots its owner,
180-degree turn,

In three, two, one.

Nothing jumped.

Narrator: A lack
of visible physical impact

Is not a great sign.

[ laughs ]

Jamie, it went
all the way through.

Wow.

Who knew?

[ laughs ]

This is now my officially
new favorite artifact

We have ever made
on this show.

That's excellent.

I was optimistic,
but now I'm speechless.

This is amazing.

Adam: So there you have it.

This, I believe,
is an awesome day's work.

Four barrels, bent at 45,
90, 135, and 180 degrees,

With ballistics gel showing

All four of those shots
being lethal.

That is
a completely astonishing result.

Narrator: Not to mention
an unexpectedly confirmed --

And comical -- conclusion.

Let's get out of here.

I want to mount this
on the wall of my office.

Well, are we even allowed
to transport that?

Well, if it fits
in the gun case.

Fair enough.

[ chuckles ]

[ horse whinnies ]

[ chuckles ]

Narrator:
When you're slow on the draw,

An innocuous everyday object
might just save your life.

But are the many lifesaving
urban myths

The miraculous real deal
or unrealistic rumor?

Next up, tory's gonna shoot
some golf balls.

This should be interesting.

Fore!

Now, the myth goes that
a mobster was playing golf.

He had a ball in his pocket.

Now, a hit was put on him,
they took the shot,

And the ball actually saved
his life.

All right.
This is .22 versus golf ball.

Here we go.

If this works,
I'll be impressed.

Narrator: The ball,
made with a hard plastic coating

And dense synthetic rubber core,

Definitely has the potential

To save
the golf-playing godfather.

Well, you guys, it looks
like this one's busted.

The .22 went all the way
through the golf ball.

But it's a hole in one.

Next up, has a wallet really got
your backside covered?

Kari: Oh, yeah.
I've heard this one.

A guy gets shot in the back
pocket with a 9mm round,

But the wallet stops it.

That's it.
All right.

So kari lines up
with a myth-specified 9mm.

All right.
This is 9mm versus wallet.

But what isn't known
is what was in the wallet.

So, we're going to shoot
a regular wallet

Filled with credit cards
and money...

Tory: All right.
Shoot them in the butt.

...A fat-cat wallet --

How do you even get that
in your pocket?

And, finally,
a duct-tape wallet,

Because -- let's face it --
we love duct tape.

I think that's
all of them.

Let's go see which ones
are bulletproof.

Narrator: Yep,
the bulletproof proof...

Nice shooting, tex.
...Is in the pocket.

Kari:
So, first up, regular.

And that is clean
through and through.

All right. Regular wallet --
not bulletproof.

No. Busted.

All right.
Here comes the fat wallet.

Entrance, exit,

And it got shot
a couple times,

And it didn't stop
any of them.

Let's try duct tape.

[ laughter ]

Straight
through the butt.

Whoo! Clean through.
No surprise there.

Duct-tape wallet --
busted for the 9mm.

They're all busted.

Well, looks like
the tape measure

Was the only thing
that was somewhat bulletproof.

But as soon as we moved up
to the higher-velocity round

Of the .40-cal,
it went right through it.

And as far as the wallet
and the golf ball goes,

Well, those weren't even close
to being bulletproof.

So this one
is definitely busted.

The best part is, now we have
a shooting gallery!

Wa-pa!

Narrator:
Later on "mythbusters"...

If you're an astronaut
in the vacuum of space

And you've got a handgun,
can you even fire it?

Ow!

That's what
we're gonna find out.

Ooh. Alien blood.

Narrator: Sit down, strap in,
and stand by.

"bullet baloney" continues.

All right,
this one is a fan favorite --

The shotgun spear.

Oh, you mean from the movie
"the grey"?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

There's a bunch of guys
hanging out in the forest.

There's wolves that want
to make dinner out of them.

They've got a bunch
of ammunition,

But nothing
to shoot it with.

Grant: Yes, and so what they do
is sharpen some sticks,

They harden the tips in a fire,

And then they duct-tape them
to the shotgun shells

With the tip pointed
at the primer.

Bangstick.

Right, and the idea is, when
the wolves come into the camp,

They poke the stick,
the shotgun shell goes off...

Injuring the biggest one, and
the animals take off running.

All right.
Who wants wolf burgers?

Ugh.

This should be
a pretty simple plan.

We copy their technique,
see if it works.

Boomstick.

Narrator:
So, for the simple setup,

It's down to the bomb range
with a lifelike lupine target

And a movie-accurate
shotgun shell on a stick.

That is one pretty wolf.

Now, for this myth
to be plausible,

We need to see two things.

One, we need to see
the point of the stick

Actually fire off
the shotgun shell...

Get ready for the pain.

...And, two, we need to see
some kind of damage

That would cause a wolf
to be repelled.

My feeling is
this isn't gonna work.

I would just poke at it
with the stick.

Boop! Doink! Doink!

Kids, that's what you call
forced perspective.

How's that for science?

Narrator: For this "definitely
do not try at home" myth,

The blast shields are raised...

That looks stable.

...With a boomstick-shaped hole
to poke through.

Now, that ought to do it.

Down, boy!

And grant is all set
to stick it to the pooch.

Kari: You know, as much
as I want these to work,

I'm kind of rooting
for the wolf.

In three...

[ wolf growling ]

Two...One.

Aah!

Lot of anger, lot of anger,
not a lot of bang.

Yep, a clean hit,

And the shotgun shell remains
decidedly undetonated.

But kari decides...

Hit him harder!

Aah!

...Grant just wasn't
desperate enough.

Okay. Okay, imagine --
angry wolf, coming to eat you!

He wants to eat you!
You're his dinner!

[ growls ]
get him!

Aah!

Ooh, that was a really good
shot, right to the chest!

That was a solid hit.

[ screaming ]

You can't get any better
than that,

And still, the shotgun shell
didn't go off.

Aah!

All right,
so this movie version

Of the bangstick
did not work.

I opened it up,
and I found that I did,

In fact, make contact
with the shotgun shell.

But, unfortunately,
it blunted the tip.

So we need to go back
and rethink this

And probably find
a harder wood.

Narrator:
It's time for plan "b" --

"b" for "back to the shop."

All right,
I'm gonna be trying something

A little bit different.

Now, the primer of a shotgun
shell is made of brass.

Now, normally, to deform it, you
would use a steel firing pin,

But, for this myth,
we need to use wood.

Now, brass has
a brinell hardness of 60,

So we need a wood
that is harder than that.

I have to sharpen it
using a steel grinder.

What I have here is ipe.

Now, this is
a brazilian hardwood.

It has a brinell hardness
of 80.

This the hardest wood
I've ever worked with.

So, this, theoretically,
could be used as a firing pin.

Narrator:
Back at the bomb range,

Tory, with his hardwood
in hand...

Oh, yeah.
It's my boomstick.

Let's make it work.

Narrator: ...Attaches
the shotgun shell to the spear.

And he's ready to fight
for his life.

All right, this is
ipe-hardwood boomstick...

[ wolf growling ]

...In three, two, one.

You hit it hard enough
to break your stick.

That was a good hit, man.

Narrator: A good hit,
but still no fireworks.

The primer's dented,

But it wasn't enough to set off
the shotgun shell.

But the team isn't ready
to give up just yet.

In keeping with
the macgyver-like myth,

They're going to improvise.

So, there's
one last possible scenario

That's in the realm
of reality.

Say they found
a little sharp piece of metal,

Or a screw, or a nail,
or something from the plane...

Ready to nail it?

...And then used that
to try to hit the primer.

[ wolf growling ]

Here we go,
in three...Two --

It's kind of like
playing pool -- one.

[ cheering ]

It worked!
It worked!

Yes!

Just like it says on the tin,
the boomstick went "boom."

Groovy.

But did it do any damage?

It didn't make it, actually,
through the fake fur.

Without the gun barrel
to contain the blast,

The energy disperses, and the
ballistics gel is unscathed.

So, for protection
from the pack,

Save time
and stick to a pointy stick.

I mean,
if I had a choice,

I would have gone
with just the plain spear,

Because this is just going
to make him angry.

The spear
might actually kill him.

Spear's a great weapon.

It's worked
for thousands of years.

Busted.

Busted. Busted.

[ wolf growls ]

[ wolf howls ]

Do not try what you
are about to see at home.

We are what you call
experts.

[ horse whinnies ]

Next up, adam and jamie
hit the ballistics bunker

For a physics and fiction
face-off...In space.

Dude, I think we should test
how much of a deterrent...

[ gun cocks ]
...That sound is.

It's pretty distinctive.
Totally.

So, what's next?

Well, apparently,

It is impossible
to fire a gun in space.

You mean, like,
in a vacuum?

Exactly.
Think we've got to test it.

I've always wanted
to go to space.

Me, too! Guns in space?
What could possibly go wrong?

Look out!

Narrator: Although hollywood
would have us believe otherwise,

The prevailing theory
is that a gun will fail

To fire in space
for two reasons.

Aah!

First, the lack of air
and atmospheric pressure

In the vacuum of space
may cause the slug to deform.

Second, without oxygen,

The primer can't ignite
the propellant.

And, to test these theories,

Adam and jamie need to fire
a gun in space...

Down here on earth.

That looks good.
It's gonna be beautiful.

To do that, they're building
a bulletproof vacuum chamber.

Wa-pa!

And, once jamie inserts
a pressure gauge,

Their soon-to-be-sealed chamber
is ready to have

All of its air removed --
every single atom.

But first, a test fire.

Adam: This is a real pistol,

And we're about to fire it
in our shop.

Now, setting up a gun to be
fired by a remote control

Is always fraught
with some dangers,

And we are removing those
dangers in the following way.

One, our entire
vacuum chamber is made

Of bullet-resistant plastic.

Two, we have an extra piece
of bullet-resistant plastic

At the end of this chamber
for the bullet to land in.

Three, we're gonna have
a piece of steel

Behind that extra piece
of bullet-resistant plastic.

Four, our gun is mounted firmly
in a gun rest meant to hold it.

Five, we are only using
one bullet.

All right.
Jamie, I'm ready to load.

Are you ready?
I'm ready.

There's a couple of others,
but they don't really matter.

Jamie: Before we pull the
trigger on this gun in a vacuum,

We're gonna fire the gun in the
vacuum chamber without a vacuum

To be able to compare the two.

In three, two, one.

There it goes.

That was a bang.

Well, seemed to work
pretty well.

Indeed.

Narrator: Yep, they've tested
the remote-firing mechanism,

Captured it on high-speed,

And have a slug impact
on the backboard to compare.

It's time to reload...

Gun is hot.
Range is hot.

...And suck some air.

And adam, for one, is confident

That in this instance,
hollywood has it right.

We're waiting for our
vacuum chamber to come
up to a full vacuum,

And then we're gonna pull
the trigger on our revolver,

And I am here to tell you that
I think it's gonna go "bang."

I don't think the vacuum's
gonna have any effect

On the gunpowder's ability
to propel the bullet

Out the barrel
of our revolver.

This is it. With the chamber
evacuated to a full vacuum...

Are you ready?
I'm ready.

...And adam's remote finger
on the trigger...

All right. Here we go.

...Will hollywood have its day,

Or, as the myth suggests,
will the gun misfire?

[ sighs ]
firing a gun in a vacuum.

Three, two, one.

There it is.
There it is.

Successfully shot.

That gun fired
in a vacuum!

It did.

The images
are spectacular...

Wow!

...And the details
fascinating.

I swear, if I just saw
this footage,

I would totally believe
that it was a special effect.

It doesn't look real.
Yeah.

Amazing.

But exactly what happened?

Cue forensic duo
doctors hyneman and savage.

Adam: Now that we know a gun
can fire in a vacuum,

The question arises,
does the bullet behave

Any differently in the vacuum
than in the air?

We might posit that the bullet
would move slower in the air

Because the air
provides resistance,

Where the vacuum provides none.

And, in fact, we did find
a very minor difference.

The bullet in the air
traveled 5% slower

Than its partner in the vacuum.

That's not a big result,

But it is also borne out
in a tiny way

By the bullets that we found
embedded in the glass.

The bullet in the vacuum made
a slightly larger pressure ring

In the glass
than the one in the air.

It's a tiny difference, but
an interesting one nonetheless.

We chose a revolver
for this test,

And you'll notice
in the high-speed footage

That a fireball is created
around the gun when it fires.

Now, that's
because of the gases

Coming out of the cartridge
to escape.

If you look at the vacuum,

That fireball
is much, much larger,

And that is because a gas,
when it's exposed to a vacuum,

Is going to expand more.

And that makes me think

That if you had an explosion
in space...

Like you've seen
in countless sci-fi movies,

That explosion
would be much larger

Than it would be under normal
atmospheric pressure.

So, the myth that guns
cannot be fired

Within the vacuum
of space?

It's totally busted.

Yeah. It's busted.

Let's move on
to the next gun myth.

Narrator: Up next, tory sets
his sights on the lights.

All right, tory. So, you brought
us to the gun range.

What's the myth?

Now, you've seen this
in so many hollywood movies,

Where somebody shoots out
a neon sign

And sparks go flying
everywhere, just like this.

Aah!
[ laughs ]

All right, so,
that was pretty hollywood.

Good old special effects.

We're gonna have to make
some more neon signs.

And get some real guns,
and then we can shoot them.

This is gonna be awesome.

Narrator:
A hollywood downtown showdown

Wouldn't be complete without
obligatory neon-sign fireworks.

But is this light show
a complete fiction?

Will it really fizz and spark
without special-effects fakery?

Now, the way they create sparks
in the movies

Is by using a paintball gun
and a paintball round

That has zirconium
and an abrasive substance.

When they fire it
through the gun

And it hits its target,
it creates a spark.

But we're gonna see
if we can create a spark

Without the help
of special effects.

Narrator: So, first up,
kari goes into the light...Store

For a little light learning.

This is shawna. She's gonna
help me make a neon sign.

Now, a neon light
is not that different
from a fluorescent tube.

You ready?
Think so.

A neon light
uses high voltage

To propel a current
through a tube

That's filled with low-pressure
noble gases like neon,

Which gives us that
sort of orangeish-red glow.

Different gases will give you
different colors of light.

Oh, my god, I love this.
This is so cool.

Narrator:
Yep, it's physics fireworks.

High voltage causes electrons
to flow through the tube,

Bombarding the gas atoms.

The resulting energy is given
off in the form of light,

And the color, or wavelength,
of that light,

Is specific to the gas
in the tube.

♪ ahh

It's gorgeous!

And with her two themed
neon signs sealed,

Kari delivers them

To a familiar
and warranty-voiding location --

The gun range.

Grant: So, we're back
at target masters west

With a custom-made neon sign.

Pink?
Yeah!

Did you pick the color?
Of course I did!

That's cute.

We'll get a bunch of guns,
we're gonna shoot it, and see

If doing so actually produces
spark and flame

Like it does in the movies.

All right.
Are you guys ready for this?

Neon sign
versus 9mm handguns?

Tory:
Let's see if it sparks.

Kari: In three...

Narrator: So, will the
combination of high voltage,

Vacuum-sealed neon gas,

Kari: ...Two...

Narrator: ...And live ammo

Provide the spark
the myth requires?

One.

Narrator: Uh, no.

Well, we hit it, but no sparks
like hollywood.

No. It was absolutely nothing
like the movies.

A result...

Shotgun!

...That's double-busted.

It's for science.

Narrator: When the guys
pull out the big guns...

All right. We're hot!

In three, two, one.

Tory: Get some! Whoo!

All right. It doesn't matter if
you have a shotgun or a pistol.

You fire at a neon sign,

You're not gonna get the sparks

That you'd get
in a hollywood movie.

Narrator: Coming up
on "mythbusters"...

If you can't stand the heat,
don't fry guns in the kitchen.

Let's go eat some gun.

Narrator: To give their neon
nightmare one last shot...

We're gonna have to do something
a little more...Mythbustery.

Narrator: ...Kari, grant,
and tory filled a new sign

With highly flammable hydrogen

And lit it with the worst
wiring job possible.

[ laughing ]

That's right, I've created
several jacob's ladders,

Which are just, basically,
traveling arcs.

All right. We are hot!

12,000 volts each.
There are three of them.

In three...
36,000 volts.

Two...

If anything is going to ignite
that flammable gas...

...One.
...This is it.

Fire!

Narrator: Despite the enriched
set of circumstances,

Not one single spark sparked.

Grant: I know why they do it
this way in the movies,

With all the sparks
and the flame --

Because in real life,
it's boring!

You shoot a tube,
and the tube just goes out.

But you know what?
That's okay.

Hollywood, you keep doing
what you do,

And we'll keep busting
the myths.

Narrator: For the final round
in the "bullet baloney" chamber

Comes a myth best served hot.

Okay, we've got a story
about a guy

Running from the police

Through the back kitchen
of a restaurant,

When he decides
to ditch his gun

Into a hot deep fryer.

Don't tell me.
It goes off.

Exactly. I think we need to
deep-fry some guns to find out.

Sounds tasty.

For a not-so-lucky
fleeing fugitive,

This fast-food firearm fable
was a high-calorie catastrophe.

But adam and jamie want to know
if a gun firing in a fryer

Is a high-fat fact
or deep-fried fiction.

To find out, they've hit the
bomb range for a fryer fight.

Ready for
some deep-fried guns?

You betcha.
I'm hungry.

Adam: When you want to shoot
a gun in controlled conditions,

As we've done countless times
on the show...

In general,
you go to a shooting range.

But when you want
to shoot off a gun

In uncontrolled conditions,

I.E., dropping one in a vat
of boiling oil...

Well, then you want a place
that's a little more remote,

And that's
why we've come to this,

The yolo county bomb range
in davis, california.

They've got a shooting range
with very wide exclusion zone.

That means we can conduct
our experiments safely here.

Narrator:
And, as experiments go...

That's good.

Narrator: ...This one's
as simple as it gets --

A deep fryer...

Aww.
Isn't that pretty?

Narrator: ...A 9mm handgun...

Perfect!

Narrator:
...And soon-to-be-hot oil.

Adam: So, the major components
of this experiment

Are pretty straightforward,

And they're all
right in front of you.

We've got a one-foot cube
made of steel

That holds eight gallons
of canola oil,

We've got a pistol mounted
solidly in a machine rest

On a slider that allows us

To safely and carefully lower it
down into the oil...

Which will be heated up
to frying temperature

With my propane torch.

As everyone knows,
it's vital, when deep frying,

To know the exact temperature
of your fry oil.

And we will know that
using this thermocouple,

Whose wire travels
all the way back...

Behind these blast shields,

Where we'll monitor everything
in perfect safety.

How'd you get here
so quick?

Movie magic.
You ready?

Yeah.
All right.

Narrator: It's time to get
down to business,

And the job at hand is cooking
a loaded gun

To see if it will fire
in the fryer.

Now, there are
many different temperatures

That restaurants keep
their fry oil at,

But at the top end, it's about
390, just shy of 400 degrees.

So now we wait.

That's hot oil.

That's the temperature

We're gonna be looking for
to drop our gun.

Narrator:
And temperature is the key

To the whole shooting match.

Way back when the guys
baked bullets...

Hot bullets!
Get your hot bullets here!

...They found the heat
from an oven

Could get a gun
to go "bang."

But now, the question is,

Will the wet oil dampen
that detonation?

All right. That's 390.
I'm gonna shut off the gas.

All right. The gun's free.
You ready to lower?

Adam: I really feel strongly
that the moment

We lower that gun in there,
it's gonna go "bang."

All right.
Dropping a gun into hot oil.

I don't think
it's gonna take much more

Than 10 or 15 seconds.

Three, two, one.

Jamie: There it goes.

There it goes.

Narrator:
And there it doesn't.

The range
is most definitely hot.

That heat's working its way
towards the bullet.

But the gun
is clearly not fast food.

I was thinking it would go
in the first 15 seconds.

And, as 30 seconds rolls
into several minutes...

Come on!
Do something!

...Confidence that the myth
will go off with a bang

Has cooled.

You sure there's a bullet
in there, right?

I'm sure there --

Whoa!
There it is!

[ laughs ]

Awesome!
That worked.

Very well done.
Let's go eat some gun.

Dinner is served...

Whoa!

...Once again proving
that heat and ammunition

Are dangerous ingredients
in the kitchen.

Adam: Well, I just hope
this goes to show you,

Kids who like to play it fast
and loose with the deep fryer,

That this plus this
do not make for a tasty meal.

Oh, no,
you got to be careful

When you bring guns
around the food processes,

'cause you don't want to get
shot in the fish and chips,

If you know what I mean.

I'm not even sure what I mean.

Narrator:
What adam actually means is...

The gun went off real sweet,
just like the myth.

Narrator:
But they're not done yet.

They're going again, and this
time, they're starting cold.

So, our gun went off
in the vat of boiling oil,

But that begs the question,

What's the lower temperature
threshold for setting off a gun?

So that's
what we're gonna figure out.

We're gonna refill this tank
with some cold oil...

Lowering it in.

[ laughs ]

...And heat that oil
until the gun goes off.

That's all the information
at this point.

So, what are we up to?

Just over 160,
climbing steadily.

You know, waiting for things
to go off like that,

While you're heating them up
slowly,

Waiting for a failure point,

Is always nerve-racking.

This is no exception.

Jamie: Well, we're up
to about 260 degrees.

Got a long ways to go.

Adam: We're sitting there
passing the time

As the temperature's
just climbing slowly.

So, at the point
it's rounding 300,

We're kind of feeling
a little bit bored and lax...

So, what's your favorite
fried food?

Fish and chips.

Fish and chips?

When they're done right.

...Not really paying
close attention,

But just keeping tabs on it.

Then, around 340,
we know that we're in the zone,

And I literally was in the
middle of saying to jamie...

All right, I guess we'd better
start paying atten--

Whoa!

It totally just went.

What temperature was it?

It was right around
344 degrees.

Whoa!

This is a rare time
when the experiment happened

Long before we expected it
to happen.

Wow. That's lower
than I thought it would be.

Me too.

It was surprising.

Narrator: But with two
successful fryer firings,

What's not surprising
is the result.

So, I know this is
probably a little obvious,

But it's time to call it.

We don't need
to call anything.

Just drop that sign
on the ground,

And the camera guy
will take care of the rest.

All right.
Here we go.

Why do we always park

On the other side
of the hill?

I don't know.
It's stupid.

And that's another fully-loaded,
gun-toting collection

Of clichés concluded.

We shot a gun
around a corner!

Using their weapons
of mass deduction,

Their sums, and ammo...

I'm speechless.
This is amazing.

...The team
has once again defeated

The dark forces
of fakery and fiction.