Newton's Cradle Swing Using Wrecking Balls... | MythBusters | Season 8 Episode 10 | Full Episode

It is possible to construct a working Newton's cradle using wrecking balls! Inspired by a viral video...

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

[cibimbox]

The problem with this that they do this not with complete steel balls. Complete steel ball would transfer energy properly, meanwhile steel shell with some soft cement inside act as baloon with water and all that energy is just wasted during transfer.

[Ben-itkq]

I'll be ever grateful that this is what I grew up watching.

[Nick-rsif]

Seeing Grant on set... he had so much more to give the world.
One shouldn't be overwhelmed by sorrow over loss.
One should instead be happy over who he was, what he was, that he was, and to whom he was.
And for the time that we got to to experience his fantastic personality.
We will always miss him. 🥺

[MikeTotem]

This show was not just the most important formative years of my early teens, through to adulthood. But, it was also THE single most important entertainment and relieve during the worst parts of my depression, a depression that started at age 12 and clinically"ended" at age 33. This show is one of the absolute major reasons that I'm still alive.

Seeing all these episodes finally being legally uploaded is so cool, emotional and amazing. This show not only educated me to love science, it not only saved my life, it inspired an entire generation to follow our dreams in life. However crazy they seemed, whomever told us to be careful.

Thank for, forever, to everyone on this show. In front, and behind, the camera. You did something absolutely amazing :)

[Zorothegallade-ggzg]

A car barreling down a hill dropping a trail of frozen chickens behind it with a robotic turkey dancing on its hood is a scene I would have never thought I'd see.

[rasielblack]

Finally looking mythbusters without ads

[MsHojat]

For those wondering how this happens (they never explained it) the force that the steel can withstand scales at a slower rate with thickness than the force that the steel increases by in weight per increase in size.

The steel can't withstand all that force so it takes most of the energy into itself by deforming rather than moving (or transferring the "movement" to the next object)

[Tennouseijin]

48:15 *notices all the wrecked watermelons*
... I get the impression that some footage didn't make it to the final cut. Hey, at least they had some fun at the end ;)

[triumvir_hunt]

that newton cradle was actually a kitkat commercial

[pchvgel]

Honestly, when i saw that giant newtons cradle, my thought was "ohhhh that was a good Episode"

I grew up watching the german dub of the show, but now as a more fluent english speaker i really love the original

[Corristo]

"Because the viral video was nothing but CGI."
You don't say? I think one of the problems of later Mythbusters seasons was that they had essentially burned through all good myths and started going after viral videos/random stuff from Youtube. While interesting to watch, it was clear from the very beginning that they would end up busting the vast majority of them, due to CG being used to fake everything. Mythbusters ended well, but it was clear that they were more or less creatively treading water at this point and that they wanted to move on.

[awesomemarck]

I'm so gratefull to finally get to watch it again, love the show. Cheers from Brasil!

[AllenBirdcam]

Those balls are mild steel which is malleable compared to much harder chrome steel used for ball bearings. The steel at the point of contact compresses before transferring any movement to the next ball. Even chrome steel may not be hard enough to not compress at the point of contact with the weight of those balls, although it should compress less than mild steel and work a bit better.

[melonenlord]

If you need more weight for the car to fall down, then it's not really at his tipping point in the first place.

[eyecontactleadsto]

I absolutely love how even under his giant helmet, you can see how happy Tori is while his robo-turkey is freaking out Kari hahaha

[Kabivelrat]

Its about ELASTIC vs PLASTIC collisions, when the balls are being deformed, energy is lost INSIDE of the balls which means after they are compressed they dont spring back like a rubber band but instead remain in their sqashed form - something like that...

[DDT-For-Human]

outside of the metal is not hard enough to transfer all the energy, the way the chains are attached also allow for much more rotation than the small scale crane, and chain also is not as flexible and loses more energy

[schizophrenicenthusiast]

Used to watch this show as a child. Looking back now as a mechanical engineer in my mid 20s, it's even more fun now that I understand the physics behind everything and can make my own predictions. Very grateful for this.

[DanCicierega]

The amount of “balls” bits was making it more hilarious every time

[TheVoitel]

I hope you are aware that a Newton’s cradle will only work out if the balls are of equal mass and if they leave no gaps. Your “test installation” clearly left gaps. Filling balls with concrete — I don’t think you’ll achieve equal mass. Also you need to be perfectly aligned, which the balls clearly are not (we see some torsion as they hit).