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Electromagnetic Watch

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The Myth

THIS MYTH WAS FEATURED IN...
Episode Title: Epsiode #95: James Bond Special (Part 1)

Original air date: January 16, 2008
Myth Title: Electromagnetic Watch


Myth Description: In Live and Let Die, "Q" conjures up a watch for Bond that looks like a normal watch. However, it hides a powerful electromagnet that can deflect bullets.


MythBusters on the bust: Adam Savage, Jaime Hyneman


Hypothesis: If you can create an intense magnetic field, it will alter the flight path of the bullet.


Procedure/Experimental Design: Jaime puts an electromagnet into a watch like the one in the movie. Adam & Jaime head to . They rig a remote fire device, high speed camera, & a ballistics gel arm with the watch on the wrist. Next ,stepping up to a 3200 Guass electromagnet, they still could not get a deflection of trajectory. Finally, they use the super-strong neodymium iron boron magnets.


Results: It took 10 super magnets to make the bullets go end-over-end. It took 13 of them (the last 3 being 3 times as thick) to drag the bullet all the way down & deflect.


Conclusion: It is hard for magnetism to overcome momentum.


Busted or Not Busted: Busted
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  • Well, I'm not surprise the magnets didn't affect the bullet. It was travelling way to fast for the magnetic field to have any affect on it. One needs a magnetic field of Jupiter in order to have any affect in changing the projectory of the bullet in a major way.


  • I disagree with the colleague up here... A strong magnet could possibly make a speeding metal object make an appreciable turn (of course, not one the size of a watch). The big problem is that I believe you probably used LEAD bullets. Lead is not ferromagnetic, it's diamagnetic, according to Wikipedia... Diamagnetic and paramagnetic materials have veeery weak magnetic interaction. You need ferromagnetic materials to observe interesting magnetic phenomena. So, your experiment was not very different from using a rubber, ice, or perhaps a meat bullet. Aluminium, for example, is famously diamagnetic. Have you tried to put the bullet over the magnets in first place, to see if they are attracted even when not moving? You should have usedsteel or nickel bullets, if these exist. Of course, the myth could have already been dismissed in first place noting that lead could not be appreciably attracted anyway. Secondly: The target was too close. If the bullet gets deflected, the farther the target is, the better to measure this. It's better to measure a weak force then no force at all... And finally: Even strong neodymium permanent magnet is no match to a fine electro-magnet. I mean a serious electro-magnet, consuming many watts of power, getting seriously hot... The ones they use to move cars in car cemeteries, for example... You could have looked for one of these. Itwould be very interesting to find out the maximum speed in which ferromagnetic bullets stop to be appreciably attracted to a large electro-magnet!... If you ever try this out again, I would advise in shooting down, so gravity has a smaller effect in spoiling the experiment. And just to really finish: it would have been **extremelly** *very* interesting if you have tried to detect the electromagnetic waves that metalic bullets (even lead) should emit when the magnetic field over it changes abruptly (as when entering the field very fast). -- nwerneck






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Latest page update: made by nwerneck , Apr 21 2008, 12:12 AM EDT (about this update About This Update nwerneck They should have used **ferromagnetic** bullets, and really large electro-magnets - nwerneck

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Keyword tags: adam savage byron kari byron kari mythbusters chapman scottie Discovery Channel discovery channel myth busters grant imahara jamie hyneman myth busters mythbuster mythbusters myths urban legends urban myths
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Dd_madrid Please wath episodes before commenting 0 Jul 13 2008, 7:10 PM EDT by Dd_madrid
Thread started: Jul 13 2008, 7:10 PM EDT  Watch
It seems that many people criticise witout actually having watchs the episodes. Otherwise, I can't understand how they haven't noticed that the MB *did* use electro-magnets, and that they *did* make steel bullets so the magnets could attract them.
OTOH, I agree in that the target should have been farther away to amplify the effect.

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