Did Lightning Strike Benjamin Franklin's Kite? | MythBusters | Discovery
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- Опубликовано: 14 дек 2024
- Embarking on a daring quest to unlock the secrets of electricity, the team creates a mini lightning storm. Following Benjamin Franklin's pioneering method, they test the concept of flying a kite to conduct electricity. However, their experiment takes a dramatic turn when the fake Benjamin Franklin gets electrocuted.
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Did Lightning Strike Benjamin Franklin's Kite? | Mythbusters | Discovery
• Did Lightning Strike B...
The most underrated cast member MythBusters? The humble narrator.
who is MIA apparantly
@@thehulk86 He's there. You just need to close your eyes and believe.
Without Robert Lee's voice so much info not provided to the viewer. Such a shame :(
RIP Grant Imahara.
Was just thinking its heartbreaking seeing him in his prime on here again.
RIP
You really see how important the narrator is when he’s no longer there. Definitely the glue in the narrative
Ill admit.. the narator being missing is WILD
You could re-edit these any way you wanted, and that's fine as far as I'm concerned, but why is the aspect ratio so messed up?
the cameras back in the day were still recording for 4:3 square tvs before everyone switched to 16:9.
@@darkshadowsx5949then they could've just uploaded it in 4:3 instead of squashing it to 16:9
The kite didn't get hit by lightning. The experiment is about drawing the static electricity out of the cloud without a lightning strike. This paragraph is not hard to find by searching.
Franklin kept dry by retreating into a barn; the end of the string was also kept dry to insulate himself. When the stormed passed over his kite the conductor drew electricity into his kite. The kite was not struck by lightning but the conductor drew negative charges from a charged cloud to the kite, string, metal key and Leyden jar. It appears that he knew enough about grounding to protect himself from being electroshocked. When he moved his hand near the key he received a shock because the negative charge attracted the positive charge in his body.
It would be negative moving toward positive. The negative is caused by the abundance of negatively charged electrons. They would be moving from a higher density region to a lower density region.
1.21 Gigawatts?! Great Scott!!
I would argue that people have survived lighting strikes. Some have even survived multiple strikes.
this was so fun to watch like all of the episode's /myths they busted or confirmed the true mastery of the show is shown by there out of the box thinking when it came to the myth . wish they would bring it back it was a great show that inspired millions of people world wide
They tried, with new people, and it sucked.
“Is that your doll?”
“It’s an action figure dammit”
That’s a classic
Where's the Voice-over?!?!
If they have the voice-over, then they would have to pay residuals to the guy who did the voice-overs. This is the new WB Discovery, where they cut every corner and don't pay a penny for anything.
@@vitaminalm that's insane lmao
Making these replies here so that people see them- its possible that this edit was the only surviving edit that discovery could find in original condition. You can tell by the fact that the music and sound effects are still placed and balanced properly without the narration- this was simply the final version before the narrator was added on the very top of the audio, and because its so old, discovery probably lost the original complete master.
@@vitaminalm no need to spread misinformation, they had very noticeable audio issues particularly with the narrator's voice on other videos they uploaded. They seem to have run into issues with audio and aspect ratios when upscaling for RUclips. Has nothing to do with paying him
@@Gronkle123 technical issues asside, I encourage you to do some research on WB Discovery ceo David Zaslav and what he has been doing. You would be amazed at how this isn't misinformation.
It's nice that Discovery is finally releasing these segments as onesies. But you can tell this one goes back a LONG way because apparently it was shot for the old SD 4:3 aspect ratio, not HD 16:9... leading the Build Team to look horizontally stretched. Surely they could fix this...
I once knew a lady who worked with me many years ago. She left her kids in the care of a babysitter; one of her kids was an 8 year old boy. They lived in an inner city neighborhood, and there had been rain for several days. So on a windy day, the boy made a kite, using copper wire for the frame. He flew the kite-- on a nice, windy day-- and it hit a powerline. That was the end of him. Worst of all, the news report of it got on the radio, and his mother heard it, turned to a co-worker, and commented about how terrible it was for that boy's family. She got home that evening--- and found out the victim was her son. And yes, there have been others who have tried this and got themselves killed.
This video got me thinking about lightning... So I decided to look into it a bit. While the internet varries and says lightning has an average of hundreds of millions of volts, I think the average lightning bolt is around 40,000V to 120,000V. Since you guys tested close to 500,000V, it's possible Ben Franklin did get an arc without bursting into flames.
Just some random thoughts that this video inspired `\{"_"}/`
And the amperage?
Yeah, 9 out of 10 people survive lightning strikes, so I think that they have some issues in their testing methods here
Average voltage of lightning strike is estimated to be around 100 million volts, not just the 40,000-120,000 V stated by SPGS America. That being said, I personally know someone who has been struck multiple times, so Franklin's inevitable death seems like a jump to false conclusions. There have to be many more factors about this phenomenon not yet understood.
They also only tested with one hand, I highly doubt he connected the bolts with both hands, one hand wouldn't complete a circuit through the heart and wouldn't kill you.
Secondly, I know first hand that lightning bolts have a very wide range of voltage. And it is very likely that it was on the low end, don't forget that with reflexes and the circuit to the hand being cut really fast because the kite would have been most likely destroyed means that he would have most likely survived.
no shame to the mythbusters though, but it was a B plot myth which are always simplified.
Love myth busters! Love adam and Jamie!
Such an awesome experiment
Where is the VO?
I find it funny these guys (who've made everything under the sun) have so much trouble making a simple kite that every 10 year old knows how to make. lol
maybe every 10yr old in the 60's knew how
@@micahpacileo2307 A fair point.
@@micahpacileo2307 I actually WAS a 10-yr-old in the '60s, and while I knew how to assemble the kites you could then buy in grocery stores for 10 cents (basic model) or 25 cents (deluxe model), I had no better luck with them than the team is having in this video... until one day Dale Long, the neighborhood bully, pulled his bicycle into the driveway where I was struggling with my latest kite and said contemptuously, "You've got to bow it, dummy!" Rude, but he was right. I hadn't realized you needed to loop the supplied bowstring onto the ends of the kite crossbar and apply tension, bending it into a bowed shape that stabilized the kite and made getting it airborne a breeze (see what I did there?) So I guess I can't blame the team. Too bad they didn't have a neighborhood bully.
I am not convinced that this is a myth that was busted. Franklin was said to have used hemp string for most of the kite string, but the part of the cord that he held onto was silk string tied to the hemp string, and that the silk string was kept dry.
These guys are always way more chummy than Jamie and Adam. You can tell they like each other more.
So a thought I had is that, there's typically a large amount of excess water in the air during a lightning storm, that would dampen the string and could intensify the transfer of electricity down the string?
This is an interesting question but I'm going to say no.
Water itself is not a conductor of electricity, it's the impurities that are in the water that conduct the electricity. Lakes and rivers are conductive because there are a lot of impurities in the water they are made of.
If you evaporate the water into vapor then condense it into a clean container, you will get distilled water. The water molecules evaporate but all of the impurities stay behind. That distilled water is a very good insulator because there are no impurities, it is only water.
Rain is just distilled water. It is evaporated from lakes and rivers and that water vapor comes back to the surface in the form of rain. All of the impurities are left behind when it is evaporated.
After a few minutes of intense rain any impurities should be washed off the string and kite, so I think any excess water around the kite and string would be a better insulator than conductor, thus protecting from the electricity rather than helping the transfer of electricity.
15 min of Kari. 10 wardrobe changes 😅
Carrie is the main reason why I used to watch this show.
Whoever believed Ben Franklins kite was struck by lightning & he lived is someone that needs to go back to elementary school.
I can’t believe Grant is dead. Wow life is short people. Enjoy and live it up. RIP Grant.
Imagine if they mentioned how much amps their test volts were carrying. Anyone who works with electricity knows it isn't the volts. It's the amps that kill.
Narrator?
I miss the narrator
It's scientifically impossible to fly a kite and not have a massive smile
Underrated comment.
It's possible that Ben Franklin actually did touch the key after a lightning strike without dying, because if 90% of people survive direct hits from a lightning bolt, the key would give a lot less power, and he'd still have the same chance of survival. Plus, the duration of a lightning strike is less than a second, whereas this experiment sent charge for several seconds, making it more lethal
People have survived direct strikes from lightning. So I would think its possible to survive lightning hitting a kite. Any tiny variable different from the test could change the results. Maybe his string wasnt as wet for example. If it was slightly raining and it got a bit of the surface of the string moist would be different than completely soaked string.
That looks like paper twine. Franklin would've used hemp twine. Yes, I know this is 8 years old! Just saying.
Did they just not have the narrator for this episode or was he edited out for some reason?
My uncle was hit by lightning when he was a teenager. One of his shoes was blown off and he was shook up but he survived and was okay otherwise.
does he have a scar
Most people survive lightning strikes… just saying
why did they edit out the narrator in some scenes?
I would have some serious trust issues using a water hose in there.
The conditions under which this test was done may have left out a key ingredient (pun intended). And that is humidity. Being out in a thunderstorm the air is pretty much 100% humid, meaning some, if not most, of the lightning discharge may have grounded out prior to reaching Ben. From what I recall reading somewhere a fellow kite flyer tried repeating the experiment and was killed. Ben might just have been extra lucky that day.
What if he wasn't holding the other end, but had it tied off?
The kite string and a brass key.
As an electrician, i believe it's the amp that kills U... Not the volts. A person can have volts to fry U but amps can stop it heart.
its a mix of both. volts is penetration. amps is force
What happened to the narration(VO) and the aspect ratio if this is how Discovery + is then I wont buy it! Should have paid the VO the royaly sounds like
Can’t believe Grants dead still. Such a shame 😣
How is the myth busted? Benjamin Franklin was a pretty smart guy, who said he was touching the thing?
😂 the wet line is the conductor to the ground rod, you stand inside the barn holding the dry line. Got to love staged ignorance.
Grant :(
What happened to the aspect ratio, the color and the narration?
Probably removed for copyright purposes? Just a guess though, which is why they have music playing the entire time. So there’s a change in the material itself
Made this reply more than once so hopefully people see it- its likely that this edited version without the narrator was the only version discovery could get that wasnt lost. This cut clearly had the original music and sound effects, but just no narration, meaning it wouldve been the cut BEFORE the final, aired cut of the episode. Its so old that they probably either got rid of or somehow damaged the original, complete, aired cut for television. As for the aspect ratio, its the same reason- you watched these on old CRTVs made for 4:3. Upscaling them to fit widescreen or 16:9 modern aspect ratios changes the resolution and picture. Simple as.
GW, Used do his experiments in the buff
where the hell is the narrator?
The trio was more entertaining than Adam and Jamie.
guess they haven't heard of the Bagdad battery.
Guys stop blaming discovery for "cutting" the narrator. Its also possible, unfortunately, that this edit without the narrator was the ONLY surviving edit that discovery had in original condition to upload. The fact that the narrator is the only part missing, but they had ALL the background sound effects and music still in place make it more clear that that was probably the case
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
it still is pretty weird that's the only thing missing
@@Minty1337 Studios make and keep copies of basically every step in the editing process- however, if the only copy missing was the FINAL copy, this is literally the next best thing to the original, aired program. Again, its obviously not an issue of paying the guy, cause they've uploaded more recent episodes with him narrating. Its way more likely they just lost the original copy; after all, the episode was from almost 20 years ago now. LOTS has changed about discovery since then (unfortunately) and lots of original media must have been moved, archived, or otherwise thrown away.
@@Salamandra40k i just find that to be a weird step to have is all, you'd expect either something more raw, or the complete product, i wouldn't expect a stage in editing to be saved at all, let alone be what they have left
I thought I was going crazy at first...
videos with such questions only make foreigners from other countries except america think that americans hate their own country and it's easy to destroy america
Without the VO, this feels wrong and hard to follow even
clearly they didnt know how to fly a kite and didnt research on how to make one, at 4 minutes they tied the string to the wrong side of the kite......the only myth tested here was more on the line of did charlie brown know how to build and fly a kite?
So funny a TV show tried to cover all the permutations on this one. Fun stuff but nowhere near the realm of actual science.
Not an engineer nor an electrician.. but I have a serious problem with this experiment.
Specifically in the pictures (history books, etc), shows Ben not holding the string, but rather a type of cloth that's attached to the string.
Secondly, how do people who literally get hit by lightning survive?
3rd.. It's been proven multiple times that lightning doesn't travel from sky to ground.. it's the opposite... Ground to the electrified clouds.
I agree this test Is flawed in so many ways they even showed the photo where the key has a second string or cloth and the ring attaching them is the key creating a gap where the only path the power can go through is the key not around the key. -0- not ->-O-
No Robert Lee = No go for me.
Nano Semens
I take it the narrator wanted too much pay for replaying this. Too bad, really miss him.
Its likely not about payment, because new videos have the narrator- this version was likely the only surviving edit discovery had access too in original quality. The sound effects and music are still present and properly balanced in the audio. The original, completed master of the aired episode must just have been lost
probably not. copyright laws are a nightmare
But you also keep forgetting that he might also had rubber gloves because he's also mess when he actually electrocuted a turkey. Do you research more people?
This is so stupid. Without a narrator it feels like watching my dog pissing and wondering how he manage to piss himself every third time. Stop uploading videos.
You find your dog pissing interesting but not the video? Strange.
Said this repeatedly so hopefully people will see- its likely this is the only cut that discovery could find in original quality. The complete, aired episode with the narrator was likely just lost or damaged. This pre-final cut still has the original background audio and music, so it was clearly not editted recently to upload here. And, yes, losing the original masters of media is a common thing, especially for television and movies.
it's not just the narrator's problem, they also make square kites 😂
I was taught that Ben was one of many people who tried this experiment and he was the first person to survive it and be able to do it again. So not so much a great scientific genius who thought it up but the first to live long enough to write a scientific paper on it.
It's a well established text that Ben Franklin didn't discover electricity. It was known about for centuries. It was even harnessed in primitive batteries before he was even born. I know it's one step shy of treason as an American to insult Ben Franklin but he wasn't the brilliant inventor that history books make him out to be. Everything he's credited with was around before he even was.
supposedly he made his son hold the string
sounds like a politician
First comment😂😂
This version just shows me how unnecessary the excessive narration was
Thank you for cutting the annoying narrator.
I disagree you don't know the circumstance for the time of Benjamin Franklin
like what?. they are going off the myth
@@spiderzvow1 grow up why do you want so much to argue any point