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Construction Worker and Static Cannon



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The Myth

THIS MYTH WAS FEATURED IN...
Episode 20: Exploding Jawbreaker, Killer Card, Construction Worker and Static Cannon

Original air date: 10/27/2004
Myth Title: Static Cannon


Myth Description: A construction worker finds an 8" PVC pipe. He wants to reuse it. So, he sandblasts it. As he walks around the pipe, the built-up static charge discharges into the worker, killing him.


MythBusters on the bust: Adam Savage, Jaime Hyneman, Tory Belleci (builder), Kari Byron (builder), Scottie Chapman (builder)


Hypothesis: The sandblasting charges up an abundance of electrons. Therefore, a charge builds up.


Procedure/Experimental Design: While Tori builds an enviroment for the test, Adam & Jaime get advice on how the myth conditions could work. Adam & Jaime make a non-grounded stand for the PVC pipe. Adam salvages an old animatronic hand to take the discharge. Then, Adam sandblasts the pipe.

Frustrated, Jaime & others build a large, modified Van de Graaff generator. Adam makes a modified leyden jar. Both are made with PVC. Neither one had the power to do more than a "normal" static spark.


Results: PVC is a poor charge holder.


Conclusion: Sandblasting or any other method of building a charge into PVC will not allow the PVC to hold enough of a charge.


Busted or Not Busted:Busted

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Did the MythBusters get it right? How would you have busted this myth differently? Share your experiment design for how you would prove/disprove this myth:

  • Static electricity accumulates on the surface of insulators. What was the humidity they tested in? What was the humidity in the sand they blasted with? Mars dust acts weird partly because it's VERY dry, partly because of the particle-size ( small ). Replicating the conditions means understanding what conditions it is that need be replicated..
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Threads

Anonymous  (Get credit for your thread)
Started By Thread Subject Replies Last Post
torhav Steel sand 0 Aug 8 2008, 7:23 AM EDT by torhav
Thread started: Aug 8 2008, 7:23 AM EDT  Watch
I was sandblasting steel parts for my company some years ago. I often experienced electric discharges from the handle at the end of the hose. This was attatched to the hose with steel screws, and if I touched these I would get a electric shock with approx. the same power as an engine spark plug.
The "sand" I was using was made from steel. If mythbusters used normal sand, maybe this is why they could not build up an electric charge?
My suggestion is to use steel sand, and blast this through the pipes inside, and not at the outer surface.
Maybe a steel screw through the PVC pipe also could help building the charge?

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