I saw the show. They completely forgot that an airbag is intended to work on one impact, the first impact. Even in cars, if there is a second impact, the airbag is useless. That is why seat belts are necessary. They work for ALL the impacts a car may go thru.
In a car-train collision, there is almost always more than one quick impact. Usially there is a prolonged push and another impact as the car hits another obstacle down the track. The show claimed that they reduced the G load from 7.1 Gs to 4.5 Gs. That is nice, but even 7.1 Gs is not usually enough to kill. It is the "push" that causes the damage, and an airbag will nothing to fix that.
Jack
Yup, I like mythbusters from its "good ole boy, redneck engineerin'" approach to test common gee wiz thoughts and problems. Saw this show with a "scientist" and "engineer" and went wow, this like the little kid goin' "look at me!"
Adrianspeeder
USAF TSgt C-17 Aircraft Maintenance Flying Crew Chief & Flightline Avionics Craftsman
Well, if it gets more kids interested in science and engineering, it's a good thing (IMHO).
Kinda like all the interest kids have in forensics now because of those glitzy CSI shows...
Not knowing exactly what an "idea guy" is or how a designer is separable from an engineer, I can see that you need the science to tell if an idea is possible and engineering to tell you if it's practical. I just wish the scientist and engineer would display a bit more science and engineering when they do what they do. How about a little math to predict outcomes?
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
BaltACD wrote:With all due respect to Discovery Channel, I am finding 'Smash Lab' a Mythbuster redux without the charm and wit. Maybe the cast will develop personality but right now, the show is a pale imitation of the original.
Mythbusters is so much better. They've got hosts with more personality, and from what I've seen of "Smash Lab", they've got a better knowledge of physics too. . . .
The other problem I have with the show is that they seem to be trying to solve problems that either don't need to be solved, or have "solutions" in place that they don't understand are the result of years of testing and engineering, i.e., the way a locomotive pilot is designed not to let debris get under the locomotive, sometimes by carrying it off down the tracks with the locomotive.
I watched an episode last week where they were trying to cushion impacts with jersey barriers, to keep cars from crossing into oncoming traffic. . .Each of their attempts only helped to send the car over the barrier. But those barriers are a certain shape and a certain size specifically to keep cars from going over them. They didn't even test the barrier by itself first to see if it worked on its own. It's like "Smash Lab" jumps in at random trying to change the design of things that have all ready been engineered to work and perform a certain way, yet they don't seem to realize it.
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