'The Power In These Flywheels Scares The Pants Off Me' | Savage Builds

Attempting to improve the design of the Panjandrum, an experimental WW2 weapon, Adam Savage joins forces with Adam Stelzner, the lead engineer on NASA's next mission to Mars. The two experiment with a flywheel to see if it provides the same amount of power as the original, with dangerous results.

[michaelmoore]

"We've mounted our twin 5-foot flywheels on a perfectly balanced custom axle..." on 2 rickety metal sawhorses and secured with a single guitar strap.

[Compgeek]

I work as an industrial mechanic and I always tell the new guys, no matter how fast something looks like it's spinning, it always has way more momentum and torque than you think it does.

[Jeffrey_Wong]

me at the beginning: "Hmm why all the dislikes? This is decent content"
me at the "end": "wow what a terrible place to end the video"

[pioneer_]

I love how this guy took a big steel drum full of rockets and explosives and somehow managed to make a possibly even more dangerous version with pure kinetic energy.

[David_Last_Name]

When the flywheel started to slip, the only reason I wasn't terrified was I realized that if that thing had slipped off, I'd be hearing about this on the evening news, not on youtube.

[spenzo]

i like how all these incredibly smart people made all this cool elaborate stuff. and went it came to the brake they were like "eh, i'll touch it with a 2x4"

[mackenziehaines]

Flywheels always have a resonance region. When I was a power plant mechanic on nuclear powered submarines our main engines would hit a freaky sounding region where the turbine blades would sound like a wolf howling then they would warm up and pass through that region.

[gregorytate]

Cool idea...That was one of most dangerous concept tests I've ever witnessed. if that thing had wiggled a little further and touched the ground it wouldn't have stopped spinning until it hit New Zealand.

[mp-xtrg]

Showing me a "part" doesn't make me want to pay for discovery to see what whole thing. It just annoys me.

[plurplursen]

I am amazed they were in the same room as this monster under the test

[strawberrylemonadelioness]

I love how excited Adam always is doing builds. His enthusiasm is contagious

[Digital-Dan]

In the late 1960's, the Librascope computer disk, capacity about 20 megabytes, had six or eight disks of about this diameter, although each was presumably somewhat thinner than yours. Two three-phase motors were used to bring it up to speed, and then one used to keep it spinning. We did calculate that if the building and casing of the device were to suddenly vanish, the disks would have enough momentum to roll over the Bay Area foothills and into the ocean.

[_edd.ie_.o.]

Adam and Adam could be complementing themselves but we'd never know 😂

[bulwynkl]

I'm constantly surprised how often folks fail to appreciate the danger of spinning objects, so it is delightful watching folks who get it. Freaked out is the correct response

[bradfordjeff]

If both of those wheels don't hit the ground at the same time and get the same amount of traction (impossible), it will take off in whatever direction it wants. Heavy vehicles in front of it will just send it up into the air. I can't wait to see the next episode.

[ronnierush]

I just wasted 7:54 mins on a advert :-(

[bgbbft]

Seems like the sort of test to do in the bottom of a retired swimming pool, while observing with a drone, from a bunker.

[ImARealHumanPerson]

Employees watching this episode and realizing why their parking spot was moved to in front of the garage that day

[TucsonDude]

We had 2 ton flywheels on the ends of these massive diesel engines in our refinery. They only spin at 100 rpm, but it takes almost 20 seconds for the engine to come to a stop...with compression braking of 12 pistons the size of human beings.

[Captain_Nemo-yq]

What is stored in the flywheels is not "power", it is ENERGY.