Mythbusters and Physics

timthereaper

I agree with the comments about scientific hand-waving. As a mechanical engineer, I often get a bit irritated with their explanations about why the experiment yielded the results it did. My wife just rolls her eyes when I shout the real explanation at the TV. However, I do think that the explanations need in some way to be dumbed down a bit for ratings' sake. I can imagine that a good portion of viewers are people with a very limited grasp of physics and want a more "common man's view". If that kind of person can't relate to the show on some level, why would they watch it? I would think that the producers of the show have a hard time straddling the line between pleasing the scientifically-minded and the layperson and overall, I don't think they're doing that badly.

About the explanation in the "blowing your own sail" episode, from what I understand, Grant is an electrical engineer, so fluid mechanics would be just slightly out of his field of expertise.

Borek

Top it with translation done by people who understand even less physics than Mythbusters do, and you will know what we are watching in Poland

Fewmet

I think you mean the fan blowing on the sail?

My high school students wrestle through that every year. I find it easiest in terms of conservation of momentum. Momentum is conserved in the closed system of the fan, the boat and all the air (including what has already bounced off the sail and passed the fan). The air that bounces off the sail has a momentum in the negative direction (if the fan is pointed in the positive direction). The longer the fan blows, the more air there is with a negative momentum, so the greater the positive momentum of the can and boat.

zoobyshoe

Thanks much, Fewmet. I'm cogitating on this.