Suggestion for the educators

[GregLocock]

I just wondered, while watching the Mythbusters, whether anyone uses their antics as the basis for a class? I think it would be a terrific way to learn statics and dynamics, at the very least.

The reason I ask is the woeful state of analytical ability, particularly with respect to statics, that I see these days (puttng my curmudgeon shirt on).

These guys are the best engineering show around. I have almost as much fun as they do, in my job, and I don't get no sexy interns. Dang.




Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[Cogs]

Greg
What is the Mythbusters and what channel is it on? Is it a UK or US program?

 

[MadMango]

Google to the rescue-

http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/about/about.html

[green]"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."[/green]
Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of Eng-Tips Forums?

 

[SomptingGuy]

Some of the episode guides remind me of this story, which always makes me laugh (and to try it myself):

http://ep.llnl.gov/msds/Chem120/lox-oxidation.html

 

[SomptingGuy]

Oop, I missed out an important word:


... (and WANT to try it myself).

 

[Maui]

Greg, "Junkyard Wars" can be fairly entertaining too. Do you get this show in Australia?

Maui

 

[MikeyP]

A TV series that was used in classes when I was at school was "The Secret Life of Machines" (

http://www.secretlifeofmachines.com/).

The bit I will never forget was Tim Hunkin using an electromagnet and a piece of sticky tape covered in rust to record sound. It actually worked!

Another more recent favourite was the long-running "Local Heroes" where the presenter bicycled around the UK (and sometimes other countries) visiting the places where famous and not-so famous engineers and scientists lived or worked. There was always a practical working model of what he was explaining (usually made with plywood and string and powered by or attached to his bike in some way). He even managed to explain vector calculus and Green's theorem using a nightclub dance floor. With the more famous people he often concentrated on a part of their work which was little known (eg John Dalton's theory of partial pressures rather than his atomic theory) and he was very keen to attribute the right inventions to the right people (eg carefully explaining the different roles of Trevithick, Newcommen and Watt in the development of the steam engine).

Unfortunately, school budgets and paperwork mean that most teachers have to resort to showing tapes of these programmes rather than demonstrating them for real even if they can be made of plywood and string.

M

--
Dr Michael F Platten

 

[GregLocock]

Maui, I found Junkyard Wars unwatchable. There again, most TV is unwatchable!



Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[TBP]

The first 2 or 3 seasons of Junkyard Wars were shot in the UK, and they're far better than the later ones done in the US. The teams in the UK were doing it as much for a fun weekend as anything. Once the show went Hollywood, it quickly deteriorated into a "life or death" competition, where everything was taken far too seriously.

Another good one was "Industrial Revelations", also shot in the UK. There were only about 6 shows in the series, but they were excellent. They covered the era of the first lathe and steam engines through to about 1900. Even my wife - who finds things mechanical to be extremely tedious - enjoyed it. It's well written, and the star/narrator puts just enough humor into it to keep it interesting.

 

[QCE]

I agree that Mythbusters could be used in the classrooms. It is a great show. I think they could show a little more calculations, etc but overall it is great.

Nice moustache. Heehee.

 

[CajunCenturion]

I also concur. Mythbusters is both informative and entertaining.

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[GregLocock]

QCE - my point exactly. For instance, the cherry picker ballista was a very bad design (as I remember it) because they forgot one vital feature. A bunch of schoolkids could easily duplicate the maths involved and investigate how to maximise the range. Or a bunch of first year engineering students could investigate how to optimise the strength and stiffness of the boom, or why the axle failed.

etc etc





Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[StressGuy]

But then we wouldn't get to laugh ourselves out of our chairs when the contraption collapsed upon itself.

I must confess, I do find the Mythbusters very entertaining, but there are times when I'm not really convinced that their approaches really bust some of the "myths" that they claim.

I too, used to enjoy junkyard wars, but it seemed to get too contrived later on. It seemed like they really seeded those junkyards to make it a little too easy on the teams.

Edward L. Klein
Pipe Stress Engineer
Houston, Texas

"All the world is a Spring"

All opinions expressed here are my own and not my company's.

 

[rhodie]

Mythbusters is very entertaining, but the "science" or "engineering" testing they use some times is catered to the dramatic rather than the empirical.

Still, pressurizing the cabin of a jetliner and shooting holes into it or exploding cans of bisquits in a hot car is much more refreshing than anything I have on my resume!

 

[GregLocock]

http://www.geocities.com/greglocock/

Look in the gallery for a couple of simulations of the ballista.

Did they have a piece of rope to limit the travel of the boom?

Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[QCE]

Wow, Greg did you figure that out or someone else. Maybe you could get a spot on the show as a celebrity guest. Who made the simulations?

 

[GregLocock]

I made them. Took about an hour of noodling. Optimising the length of the rope took 5 minutes (which is the sort of trend analysis where the simulation excels).I spent more time building the fancy flexible boom than anything else, and that was just for fun, I doubt it made any difference to the range. It just looks cool as it whips around.

Incidentally, there's at least two other tricks to getting more range, one of which the Mythbusters used, and the other of which I'm not too sure whether they used or not.

They pulled the boom down to ground level, rather than starting from horizontal.

Also they could have angled the boom relative to the body. This changes the moment arm of the body's weight relative to the angular position of the boom.


Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.