Science of Stupid (2014) s08e04 Episode Script

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DALLAS (off-screen): This
is the Science of Stupid.
Yes, this is the show
that extracts the science from the stupid.
Watch as our researchers
confront the principles of
science and reap the rewards.
We'll witness the what and
expose the why with the help
of universal constants, like
elastic restoring force,
the law of gravity and
angular momentum
because you can question the
science, but you can't beat it.
Watch out, it's the
Science of Stupid.
In this episode we'll be
mastering linear momentum,
but our angular
momentum needs work.
We'll be looking at the
nucleation of CO2 bubbles.
Very closely and the elastic
potential energy of rubber
bands but first this.
Cars and water don't mix and
that's why we call them cars
and not boats.
Don't believe me,
well look at this.
DALLAS (off-screen): See and
they're the professionals.
The problem is to keep the car
on the road you need to keep
the car on the road but
sometimes water, i.e.
rain, can get in the way of
that very simple principle.
DALLAS (off-screen): A tire's
coefficient of friction with
the road reduces
when it gets wet,
problems can occur when
turning or changing lanes
as the centrifugal force
acting on the car wants to
pull it outwards and with
less friction the car can lose
traction and spin
out of control.
In really heavy rain the
grooves in the tires can't
channel the water away quickly
enough and a wedge of water
can build up
underneath the tires,
lifting it off the road
causing it to hydroplane.
You see, I told you that
cars and water don't mix.
The other problem we have is
that cars are really heavy and
really fast, so when it goes
wrong it goes really wrong.
DALLAS (off-screen): Our
driver here is aware of the
science, keeping his car
straight to avoid spinning out
due to the loss of traction.
It's a shame the pick-up
truck driver didn't study
the science too.
After almost crashing the
driver overcorrects and he
loses traction and our old
frenemy centrifugal force
takes over.
This Mustang driver appears to
be challenging the other black
car to a wet road race.
I bet he wishes he hadn't now.
As he swerves he
loses traction,
centrifugal force takes
control and then the lamp post
teaches him that this was an
extremely stupid thing to do.
Luckily heavy traffic stops
people losing control,
unluckily there wasn't
any in that lane.
Due to water on the road and
the speed he's traveling at
the tires can't channel the
water away quickly enough,
leaving him hydroplaning
out of his no claims bonus.
But if the water is just too
deep the sensible thing is to
just pull over
and not risk it.
The less sensible thing,
opening your window.
To understand the science we
normally end up concentrating
on the stupid but every now
and then we get the chance to
study at the feet, or
in this case the hands,
of a real expert.
DALLAS (off-screen): Meet
Kevin from Switzerland.
He's gonna try and set a
Guinness World Record title
for the fastest descent
of 50 stairs while walking on his hands.
Good luck, Kevin.
Wow, 14.58 seconds.
I couldn't run
it in that time.
Don't forget the problem
with walking on your hands is
there's nothing to catch you
when you fall and for most
people falling is
almost inevitable.
DALLAS (off-screen): If you
can get up in the first place.
Ah, that's much better.
MAN: Right, this is
going well so far.
DALLAS (off-screen):
Yeah, really well.
I would advise quite strongly
that you don't try this.
The thing is, Kevin knew
science and when you know
science it's just like
a walk in the park,
only upside down on your hands
and not necessarily in a park.
DALLAS (off-screen): First
he swings his legs upwards,
generating just enough angular
momentum to stay balanced
upside down.
His arms must be strong
enough to support his weight.
Being upside down can
be disorientating as the
vestibular system,
located in the inner ear,
sends signals to the brain
telling him he's inverted,
meaning he must concentrate
more to stay orientated.
Going downstairs he generates
more angular momentum,
which he balances out by going
down quickly and moving his
arms, his base of support,
under his center of mass.
So, to sum up Kevin
used his strength,
body control and speed to
break the record but now we
all know the secrets we can
all be record breakers but
just in case let's
start with the basics.
The launch.
DALLAS (off-screen):
Or the fall.
Her arms gave way almost
immediately but luckily the
hard wooden floor was
there to catch her.
Ah, carpet.
Very sensible.
It's a shame you didn't
carpet the wall really.
Too much angular momentum
meant it was more of a
cartwheel than a handstand.
Yeah, you might wanna
hand a picture over that.
Almost. One more try.
Oh, that's smashing.
On launching his left
leg is too far forwards,
moving his center of
mass outside of his base of support.
To resist the angular momentum
generated he tries to step in
with his hands
but it's too late,
which is bad luck for him
for the next seven years.
MAN (off-screen): Oh.
DALLAS: Okay, after mastering
the launch our wannabe record
breakers need to
start walking.
DALLAS (off-screen): Sometimes
even I'm impressed by our
dedicated scientists.
Other times less impressed.
Even upside down his
vestibular system served him
well and he wasn't
struggling with orientation,
but the angular momentum of
his right leg causes him to
twist and he tries to correct
this by lifting his left arm
and he loses his balance.
9.4 for the pipe dive though.
Okay, so our record breakers
aren't quite up to speed,
but Kevin shouldn't
rest on his laurels.
DALLAS (off-screen): As
they're all in the gym
training hard but by the
looks of it not hard enough.
Can you tell me what
scientific principle these
parked cars are testing?
DALLAS (off-screen):
Well, did you work it out?
What rule of science are
these cars experimenting with?
Yes, of course you did.
It was transfer of momentum.
Momentum is equal to an
object's mass multiplied by
its velocity, the large mass
of the truck is moving quickly
so it has a lot of momentum
and much of this momentum is
transferred to
the parked cars.
Well, at least clearing
up will be easy.
The thing about skiing is that
it can be a little repetitive,
first you go up the hill
then you come down the hill,
so people like to add a
little bit of flare to keep it interesting.
DALLAS (off-screen):
Like double backflips.
See, interesting.
Now, what our face planted
friend there has done is to
make the classic mistake of
failing to study the science
before attempting the jump.
DALLAS (off-screen): In order
to complete a double backflip
it helps to have
the perfect ramp,
too flat and he might
not go high enough.
Too steep and he could lose
too much linear velocity.
On take-off he leans backwards
to generate angular velocity,
which he increases by
tucking in to reduce his moment of inertia.
After two rotations he untucks
so that his feet are in the
right position to land.
Armed with the science we sent
our teams of researchers out
onto the slopes.
DALLAS (off-screen):
Perfect conditions.
MAN (off-screen):
Yes. Oh, no.
DALLAS (off-screen): Less
than perfect landing.
He needed to increase his
linear velocity to give him
more time in the air to
complete his second rotation,
maybe if he had a little bit
more height on take-off he
could have landed on his
feet rather than his head.
That is a steep ramp.
Maybe too steep.
The steepness of the ramp
decreases his linear velocity
and he tucks himself in too
late to minimize his moment of
inertia and once again fails
to complete the rotation but
we're getting closer.
Okay, not too steep and not
too flat, like this one.
Seriously?
The slope was right, but
his angular velocity wasn't,
and he didn't make
it all the way round.
Good velocity, tight tuck.
I taught him all the
science he knows,
apart from the landing.
Now, I know a lot of you think
I live in an ivory tower.
Well, I don't.
It's made of plastic
blocks, in fact.
DALLAS (off-screen): Like this
young architect's magnificent
structure before the
wrecking ball swung by.
A tower is definitively a
structure that is taller than
it is wide and if you know
anything about centers of mass
and bases of support then
you'll know that that can make
them a touch precarious.
DALLAS (off-screen): If the
force applied to these blocks
overcomes the friction
between them they'll slide out
resulting in demolition.
This is harder near the bottom
where more weight pushing down
means greater friction
but more potential for destruction.
You can add rigidity by
building it with interlocking
blocks, making the whole tower
act as one unit but if the
center of mass moves outside
the base of support even this
tower will fall.
So, keep within your base of
support and don't build it out
of anything that won't give
you a little extra rigidity.
Simple.
DALLAS (off-screen): Our first
researcher has built this
amazing tower without
a plan or thumbs,
but she wants to take
a close up look at the tower's rigidity.
Yeah, well spotted.
Inspector Whiskers quickly
identified the design flaws,
the blocks don't interlock and
there's an insufficient base
of support.
Although the tower has
a wide base of support,
the upright blocks in the
middle have a very small
base of support.
The friction between the up
rights and the rest of the
tower is not sufficient to
withstand even a simple nudge.
Well done, Whiskers.
So, let's work on
interlocking those blocks,
or in this case humans.
The tallest human
tower was 43.79 feet.
And that wasn't it.
Even though the research team
had followed the science and
interlocked spectacularly,
humans lack the rigidity of
human blocks and one of our
block's center of mass moved
outside their base of support.
Understanding towers can help
you out of tricky situations,
like when you've lost
your keys but have left a window open.
Maybe next time leave
a key with a neighbor.
A decent wide base of
support but having wheels on the upper block's bins,
maybe not
the brightest idea.
MAN: I'm okay!
DALLAS: Now then most of us
like a cool refreshing soda or
carbonated drink on a hot
day, what's not to like?
MAN: This stuff is just so good.
DALLAS (off-screen):
Apart from that.
But have you ever thought
about the science that goes
into getting that bubbly
goodness into, well, you?
It all starts
with carbonation,
dissolving CO2 in water.
DALLAS (off-screen): Dissolved
CO2 molecules can more readily
escape a liquid if there's
somewhere for them to form a
bubble, like a rough surface
or even another CO2 bubble.
This is called 'nucleation'.
Shaking a container of fizzy
drink disrupts the surface of
the liquid, introducing
bubbles and creating lots of
areas for nucleation, which
in turn creates even more
bubbles, all of which are
looking for a way out.
What is it about those
delicious CO2 bubbles that
keep us coming back for more?
First up, do they
improve taste?
DALLAS (off-screen): Well, not
according to our researcher.
He's spotted that after
nucleation the dissolved CO2
is released as carbon dioxide
bubbles and that a chemical
reaction on the tongue
converts this bubbles into
carbonic acid, giving
his drink a sharp bite.
On the positive side
he's learnt early not to trust his parents.
So, if the bubbles
don't improve the taste,
what are they there for?
Ah, propulsion.
Smashing the soda bottle onto
the floor introduces bubbles
into the liquid creating
hot spots for nucleation.
These resulting bubbles are
then propelled out of the top
of the bottle and conservation
of momentum means that it
becomes an
uncontrolled rocket.
Hilarious and also
incredibly dangerous.
MAN: This is Matt here, and
he's about to go into space.
DALLAS (off-screen): And
Matt's fuel of choice,
soda power, aided by candy's
microscopically coarse coating
which will generate lots of
bubbles that in turn become
hot spots for even
more nucleation,
building so much pressure
in his soda rockets that he launches.
MAN: 3-2-1. Go. Yeah.
DALLAS (off-screen): Oh and
that's why NASA didn't use
fizzy soda to get to the moon.
MAN: We have simply stuck
DALLAS (off-screen): But
as long as you remember the
science and the dangers.
You too can enjoy
carbonated drinks in safety.
No, not you toucan,
you too can.
To get a body like mine you
could sign up at the gym,
spend a small fortune and
never go or you could try a
resistance band because they
are perfect for exercise.
DALLAS (off-screen): Even
ones you've made up yourself.
There are only a few
of us who can do that.
What our sideways friend was
taking advantage of was a
resistance band's
effectiveness when it comes to
toning, honing and strengthening
our lower body muscles.
It's all about the
elastic potential energy.
DALLAS (off-screen): When you
stretch a resistance band you
give the band elastic
potential energy.
When the band is released that
elastic potential energy is
quickly converted into
kinetic energy as the elastic
restoring force acts to push
the band back to its original
shape and length.
As the band is light it's
accelerated very quickly with
a lot of kinetic energy.
The band adds resistance to
simple movements making it a
fitness tool that's flexible
in more than one sense of the
word, so as long as you're
careful with all that stored
up energy you'll be just fine.
DALLAS (off-screen):
Unless it snaps.
When it breaks the elastic
restoring force pulls the band
back into its original shape,
creating a lot of kinetic
energy that has
to go somewhere.
Like her face.
Now, this band is made of
sturdier stuff and is not
going to give way,
unlike her hands.
The up and coming gymnast
loses her grip on the band and
the elastic restoring
force reminds her she shouldn't have.
Now, this researcher is
not falling for that.
She's taken her hands out
of the equation completely.
Just not her head.
Her back foot can't cope with
the restoring force and bends,
allowing the band to slide
over her socks and reform to
its original shape via
the side of her head.
Maybe the socks
were the problem.
Grippy shoes, will that help?
Well, not in this case.
The shoes did add
grippy friction,
but he couldn't resist the
restoring force of the band,
which changed the
angle of his foot.
This time though the
band didn't hit the face.
Alright, don't take
it out on the snacks.
So, after studying the science
our researchers suggest you
take extreme precautions,
maybe not that extreme.
And that's all the
pain, I mean science,
we have time for and as
political thinker and avid
viewer, Leon
Trotsky, once said,
'Everyone has the right
to be stupid on occasion,'
and these guys have
obviously taken that to heart.
Well done comrades.
(music plays through credits).
Captioned by
Cotter Captioning Services.