Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Did anyone watch this, BBC2 7:30 tonight? A penny dropped off the Empire State building wouldn't kill you if it hit you (it probably wouldn't even break the skin). You get wetter running through the rain than walking through it. Filling your toilet with petrol then lighting it wouldn't create enough explosive force to blow you off it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adios 717 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Did anyone watch this, BBC2 7:30 tonight? A penny dropped off the Empire State building wouldn't kill you if it hit you (it probably wouldn't even break the skin). You get wetter running through the rain than walking through it. Filling your toilet with petrol then lighting it wouldn't create enough explosive force to blow you off it. 166113[/snapback] I'm not at all surprised by that one, why would people think otherwise? Can you remember the details of the penny one? I'm certainly guilty of believing that one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted July 27, 2006 Author Share Posted July 27, 2006 Can you remember the details of the penny one? I'm certainly guilty of believing that one! 166114[/snapback] Its to do with mass and the force it can deliver. The penny would be travelling at 64 mph but because it only weighs 2.5 grams it hasn't got the force to do any real harm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jusoda Kid 1 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 top show mythbusters, anyone see the frozen bullet one, it's bullshit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rikko 20 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Neverseen this before, but it sounds like the kinda thing i'd like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adios 717 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Its to do with mass and the force it can deliver. The penny would be travelling at 64 mph but because it only weighs 2.5 grams it hasn't got the force to do any real harm. 166116[/snapback] Presumably it can't gather enough force if just dropped, but if it were projected at high speeds it could do damage? I think I remember a story about a kid being killed by a penny he'd left on the tracks that had flown off when the train hit it and essentially turned into a bullet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jusoda Kid 1 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Its to do with mass and the force it can deliver. The penny would be travelling at 64 mph but because it only weighs 2.5 grams it hasn't got the force to do any real harm. 166116[/snapback] Presumably it can't gather enough force if just dropped, but if it were projected at high speeds it could do damage? I think I remember a story about a kid being killed by a penny he'd left on the tracks that had flown off when the train hit it and essentially turned into a bullet. 166122[/snapback] Sounds like a myth tbh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted July 27, 2006 Author Share Posted July 27, 2006 Its to do with mass and the force it can deliver. The penny would be travelling at 64 mph but because it only weighs 2.5 grams it hasn't got the force to do any real harm. 166116[/snapback] Presumably it can't gather enough force if just dropped, but if it were projected at high speeds it could do damage? I think I remember a story about a kid being killed by a penny he'd left on the tracks that had flown off when the train hit it and essentially turned into a bullet. 166122[/snapback] They fired it out of an adapted high-powered rifle into a concreate block. Travelling at bullet-speed it took a little chip out of the block but the coin itself just warped. Guess the shape and material stopped it penetrating any further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adios 717 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 It does, it sounds exactly like something made up to scare kids, but it was more the principle I was talking about, Snopes reckons it's possible. Pennying the tracks can result in a further danger — sometimes those coins shoot out from under the train's wheels at incredible speeds, turning them into potentially deadly little projectiles. And considering it's apparently a relatively popular pass time the odds of it happening at some point are drastically reduced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adios 717 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 They fired it out of an adapted high-powered rifle into a concreate block. Travelling at bullet-speed it took a little chip out of the block but the coin itself just warped. Guess the shape and material stopped it penetrating any further. 166131[/snapback] Does that mean we might have caught Snopes out on something? Well they said "potientially deadly little projectile", which I suppose it is if it hits an eye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted July 27, 2006 Author Share Posted July 27, 2006 Aye, it certainly has the potential to get very messy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rikko 20 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 They fired it out of an adapted high-powered rifle into a concreate block. Travelling at bullet-speed it took a little chip out of the block but the coin itself just warped. Guess the shape and material stopped it penetrating any further. 166131[/snapback] Does that mean we might have caught Snopes out on something? Well they said "potientially deadly little projectile", which I suppose it is if it hits an eye. 166135[/snapback] or your temple. If it can chip a conrete block it can crack a skull up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adios 717 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Don't fancy getting smacked in the testicle with something that can chip concrete, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazarus 0 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 mythbusters is the one with that Kari Byron innit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted July 27, 2006 Author Share Posted July 27, 2006 mythbusters is the one with that Kari Byron innit? 166145[/snapback] Well, she wasn't in tonights but that is a lovely arse so I hope she features in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattM4 0 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 166145[/snapback] yummy yummy ... What experiment was that though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanTheMan 0 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 I'd love to see a programme based on snopes.com covering all urban myths. Might stop people believing the blatantly wrong ones- Coca Cola/Santa Claus, GOLF acronym etc! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted July 27, 2006 Author Share Posted July 27, 2006 yummy yummy ... What experiment was that though? 166150[/snapback] Can men concentrate on a task when a girl with nice bum bends over? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo 172 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Love Mythbusters, my favourite one was the exploding toilet, they took "Buster" their crash-test dummy and placed him on a toilet, with the bowl full of domestic cleaning products and arranged a system where the dummy dropped a cigarette into the pan to see if it would ignite the fumes. Great show ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted July 27, 2006 Author Share Posted July 27, 2006 Love Mythbusters, my favourite one was the exploding toilet, they took "Buster" their crash-test dummy and placed him on a toilet, with the bowl full of domestic cleaning products and arranged a system where the dummy dropped a cigarette into the pan to see if it would ignite the fumes. Great show ! 166174[/snapback] Aye, that was on tonights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 21036 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 They fired it out of an adapted high-powered rifle into a concreate block. Travelling at bullet-speed it took a little chip out of the block but the coin itself just warped. Guess the shape and material stopped it penetrating any further. 166131[/snapback] Does that mean we might have caught Snopes out on something? Well they said "potientially deadly little projectile", which I suppose it is if it hits an eye. 166135[/snapback] Isn't force related to momentum, which is a function of mass and velocity? Therefore, if a penny is going fast enough, it will certainly kill you. But it won't get the required speed from dropping it off a building as there will be a terminal velocity due to resistance. However, in space a speck of dust has the potential to take out a space ship iirc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo 172 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 They fired it out of an adapted high-powered rifle into a concreate block. Travelling at bullet-speed it took a little chip out of the block but the coin itself just warped. Guess the shape and material stopped it penetrating any further. 166131[/snapback] Does that mean we might have caught Snopes out on something? Well they said "potientially deadly little projectile", which I suppose it is if it hits an eye. 166135[/snapback] Isn't force related to momentum, which is a function of mass and velocity? Therefore, if a penny is going fast enough, it will certainly kill you. But it won't get the required speed from dropping it off a building as there will be a terminal velocity due to resistance. However, in space a speck of dust has the potential to take out a space ship iirc. 166179[/snapback] I think it was proven to be highly unlikely rather that impossible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted July 27, 2006 Author Share Posted July 27, 2006 They fired it out of an adapted high-powered rifle into a concreate block. Travelling at bullet-speed it took a little chip out of the block but the coin itself just warped. Guess the shape and material stopped it penetrating any further. 166131[/snapback] Does that mean we might have caught Snopes out on something? Well they said "potientially deadly little projectile", which I suppose it is if it hits an eye. 166135[/snapback] Isn't force related to momentum, which is a function of mass and velocity? Therefore, if a penny is going fast enough, it will certainly kill you. But it won't get the required speed from dropping it off a building as there will be a terminal velocity due to resistance. However, in space a speck of dust has the potential to take out a space ship iirc. 166179[/snapback] The teminal velocity was 64.43 mph and the mass was 2.5 grams. The momentum generated was enough to sting, maybe cause a little swelling but not to kill. A fleck of paint from a satellite was hit by the Space Shuttle (at around 13000 mph) and almost penetrated a window with potentially disasterous results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fish 10659 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 They fired it out of an adapted high-powered rifle into a concreate block. Travelling at bullet-speed it took a little chip out of the block but the coin itself just warped. Guess the shape and material stopped it penetrating any further. 166131[/snapback] Does that mean we might have caught Snopes out on something? Well they said "potientially deadly little projectile", which I suppose it is if it hits an eye. 166135[/snapback] Isn't force related to momentum, which is a function of mass and velocity? Therefore, if a penny is going fast enough, it will certainly kill you. But it won't get the required speed from dropping it off a building as there will be a terminal velocity due to resistance. However, in space a speck of dust has the potential to take out a space ship iirc. 166179[/snapback] The teminal velocity was 64.43 mph and the mass was 2.5 grams. The momentum generated was enough to sting, maybe cause a little swelling but not to kill. A fleck of paint from a satellite was hit by the Space Shuttle (at around 13000 mph) and almost penetrated a window with potentially disasterous results. 166182[/snapback] Who cares if this is the last thing you see? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mags 1 Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 (edited) Frozen chicken thru a windscreen, cannon made out of a log, car sandwiched between two speeding semi's..... love the show if for no other reason than they get to do what most of us would kill for a chance at. Blow things up just to see if it could be done? Oh hell yes. *cue bloody minded american quips from highbrow anglians* Edited July 28, 2006 by Mags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now