Safe Cracking with Feynman - Numberphile
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- Опубликовано: 31 июл 2024
- A chat about some of the ways legendary physicist Richard Feynman cracked safes (filing cabinets) at Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project.
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Discussed by Professor Roger Bowley.
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I wouldn't worry about angry safe enthusiasts. They don't get angry, they tend to keep things locked up inside.
Larry Allen
You beautiful beautiful pun master human being
Eeeeyyyyyyy :D
I simultaneously love and hate that this is the top comment
so punny...lol
My favorite story is when he pulled the General's top secret filing cabinet away from the wall and unscrewed the back off of it.
They didn't mention that he would tell the various people in charge of this security issue and they would get mad at HIM rather than fix the problem.
That's kind of a common thing with people in charge.
They will get angry at the person pointing out a problem and not the problem itself or the person who caused it initially. I think it has something to do with them now being required to take action, since now that they have been made aware of the issue they are expected to deal with it. Until someone pointed it out, they didn't need to do anything.
Now they need to invest time, money and work because they must fear/expect that their superiors might also hear of the problem and will hold them responsible for not doing anything about it. So they get mad at the messenger for making them work more.
losthor1zon as I recall the only reason he started cracking them was because they wouldn't listen when he reported how bad the security was.
You always shoot the messenger
losthor1zon I live his lectures
@@ziadkhayat7299 - I don't remember exactly. But he enjoyed puzzles, and I think for him this was a diversion. I thought he only pointed out the problem after discovering how many of the safes were not modified from their factory settings.
Feynman was not only a super genious (yes, my favoite scientist ever), he was also a notorious prankster. The man lived life to the fullest, all the while.making beautiful contributions to science as well as to his students and colleages. Amazing man. I think this guy sells him a little short. He was a tremendous collaborator and manager of people as his duties on the Manhattan Project reveal, and the young unknown guy on the team almost immeditely drew respect from many of the most brilliant and highly recognized men in their fields (and many famous). That says a lot!
But he was often pranking people who didn't deserve it.. like waiters or other people who were just doing a job serving him. that made him deeply flawed as a human being.
@@stijnvandamme76 He seems like a guy that would make up for it after coming clean (the best part of the prank) - like an extra large tip. I do that.
Agree
Much like you guys at Numberphile, Richard Feynman also had a remarkable talent for simplifying incredibly complex topics and explaining them to people so that even a child could understand them.
I once saw him explain the atomic world in a series of interviews on the BBC and I was totally blown away by how easy and logical he made it all sound. Feynman was an absolute genius in the truest sense of the word. For me, he is the one scientist from history who I wish I knew personally.
The simplest trick he used is that some people didn't change the factory combinations, which were just a few. He started by trying them, and they often worked. Also, when he found some people left the cabinets open, and he could use the information, he advised them not to leave them open. That triggered a memo asking people not to leave the cabinets open when Feynman was around :-D
As I understand it, when a cabinet was ALREADY OPEN he was able to use a "by touch" method of deriving the final two numbers in the combination as he seemingly twiddled the dial casually while chatting in the office - he then wrote down those numbers in a notebook or something, so he had the last two numbers on record!
I could have that wrong slightly!
In combination in most modern schools, you cannot set the combination, but you can easily find the first digit due to a flaw in the lock (apply pressure while rotating dile. Add five to the one number it gets stuck on.) then from there, after determining whether it is even or odd, you know both the second and third numbers are either even or odd (but all even, or all odd.) If there are 40 numbers, that gives you 400 combinations. But the third number doesn't require trying a new number everytime. Just set the first number, your guess for the second, then spin it around trying all numbers for the third one. Now, this is more like 20 different options, but doesn't require seeing the lock before breaking in. I have never used this technique for bad (nor should anyone) but I find it handy when I see that someone has stuck a lock in an unnecessary/obnoxious spot. Or if I find a lock, I can learn the combination then give it to a friend who needs one.
+SwatTeamExit Well, yeah! But for those that do...
I've been reading "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" Awesome read, and I definitely recommend it to all audiences!
Per his autobiography, it is my understanding that Feynman also reduced the permutations by merging the rotation for the third combination with the beginning of the rotation of the first combination of the next number tried.
Since the dials required Right-Left-Right (or Left-Right-Left) turning, the first and third numbers were approached from the same rotation direction.
Also the first number required the dial to rotate over 360 degrees. The third number's rotation was less than 360 degrees. Feynman deduced that if he got the first two numbers correct, ignored the the third number entirely, and began spinning the dial for the first number of the next attempt, the lock would make a distinctive 'Click' as it passed over the correct third number.
So with a lock dial with 100 positions per turn of which he had already reduced to 20 positions per turn, he could cracking the lock in no more than 20 x 20 = 400 attempts (plus one extra spin) without any social engineering required. So at 5 seconds per turn, in a worse case scenario, he could crack the safe in about 2000 seconds (-32 min) and on average, -16 min).
All of that is bollocks if you know how a combination lock operates.
they don't make em like they used to
@@JaakkoF feel free to read his autobiography "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!". Further if you ever had the traditional style MasterLock combination padlock, you can easily emulate the same technique. The dial had enough slop that the 60 digits could be covered by just 12. As a kid, we used to open them in a few minutes.
Close... What he did report doing was retaining the setting for the first two numbers while trying all the possibilities for the third, then nudging the second wheel just slightly to the next number along. This saves time because you don't have to dial the entire combination on each attempt. The same trick works on the position of the first wheel. You can either memorize where you've set the first two wheels, or feel the slight increase in friction as the extra wheel gets picked up by the one behind it. I've tried all this, and it works.
@@AlanCanon2222 yes, that is correct. It's been over 30+ years since I read the autobiography. Thanks for clarifying the details.
Amazing how a tiny mechanical flaw can make it that much easier. I remember I used to crack open my friend's lockers at school , leave them in awe. Really all you had to do was if it wasn't cleared you could slowly turn it backwards (so if RLR opens then LRL). If you focused you could feel when the pins collided, which would give away the number for that dial.
I love Feynman. His lectures, his life story, its all very inspiring. A great man, and an inspiring one. Always interesting.
they exist - I spent much of the morning reading about them!
Sweet, time to find rich guys with ancient safes!
Richard Feynman is one of my favorites. In happy he has been getting more recognition lately on RUclips videos so other people can appreciate him.
Feynman was an amazing human.
"Richard Feynman, king of physics, and my heart." - Hank Green
(and i totally agree)
Thanks for posting this video. I am not a scientist,or mathematician, but I became interested in Feynman from seeing him interviewed on programs such as NOVA. I didn't realize that an uncle of mine taught him in school, until after both Feynman in my uncle, Abram Bader, had died.
Agreed! The descriptions of his time in Alamos and the safecracking is my favourite part.
Surely you're joking.
I see what you did there!
I'm not joking and don't call me Shirley
+Ryan Freedman This is actually a wrong reference.
+indefinity I know
Absolutely not! I'll have my tea with both lemon and milk
One of the most intereseting videos on the Numberphile channel!
Love that you used those pots to demonstrate turning the dials on this video. Very simple substitution for a dial and they just look good.
"I never commit to memory anything that can easily be looked up in a book" - Albert Einstein
He would practically have Alzheimer's today with the internet..
"I'm having fun" - precisely why you're my biggest inspiration!
This is my favourite sixty symbol scientist. He is the most articulate and efficient of all the sixty symbol profs. Please do videos with him more often
Thanks for making such great videos Brady!
This episode was so good.
Loved reading the books about Feynman and watching interviews with him and his lectures. And look at that face, you can just see the mischief lurking in there.
Finally a new video with Prof. Roger Bowley. He's my biggest inspiration in Sixty Symbols!
Happy belated birthday Professor Bowley!
Thanks for doing this video, was reading the book and now I understood some details of his story.
Big fan of Feynman, thanks for that Brady! Appreciate it
If you enjoy stuff like this(bypassing security) you will almost certainly like the lecture on RUclips called "I'll Let Myself In: Tactics of Physical Pen Testers".
I should probably warn everyone how unsettling it is that seemingly secure things are quite often not secure at all. Watch at your own risk of anxiety.
I was just thinking yesterday "we haven't been seeing enough of Professor Bowley lately." Good timing.
Cool concept. Richard Feynman was such a cool guy. Who knew safes could be so interesting lol
I was jumping with delight when I saw the thumbnail + title for this video!
Feynman's such a mischievous genius :d
I wish i could thumbs this up a million times.
It is such a good book!
Brady is teasing us so we keep coming back for more :)
Feynman may not have been my favourite scientist before, but he sure as hell is now! That's awesome!
Amazing video!
Happy birthday professor Bowley!
read about this in Richard Feynman's autobiography, hilarious anecdotes about lock-breaking he talks about. Ah gota love Feynman!!
On my second ship in the Navy, my office was a classified materials vault. Whenever I went in to do some work, I would lock the door behind me both for privacy and to prevent anyone from doing Feynman's "Open safe" trick.
There is a CD of an entertaining talk ("Los Alamos from Below") that Feynman gave about his time at Los Alamos. I got it with the book "Classic Feynman." It goes through his whole story and ends with some safecracking stories. I would recommend both the book and the talk.
I have now - so few people actually go into the description it seems!!!
OMG! my birthday is on the 21/4 too! Happy birthday Professor Bowley.
Happy birthday!
Feynman was a bigger showman than he was a scientist. And he was one of the best scientists the 20th century had seen.
I just finished all Numberphile videos! Now I'm officially a nerd!
Happy birthday!!!
Cool video!
i read this story in "surely you're joking My Feynman". Great book, great story and a great man!
I have many videos on the go - Zeno is coming!
Gets a a bit boring if you always know what is coming next, doesn't it!? ;)
I was just reading Feynman's book "Surely you're joking Mr. Feynman", and just finished the chapter where he was describing his passion for safe-breaking. I put the book aside and entered my RUclips account, and lo and behold - a new numberphile's video about.. now, what's the odds for that? :)
Amazing book by the way, highly recommended to anyone who would like to have a glimpse into the mind of this fascinating man.
happy birthday!
This was one of my favorite chapters from Feynman's autobiography.
Geeky or not, I LOVE this numbrphile series. They’ve hit on really nice programmed format, imho!
I have never been able to work these locks very well , and I have lived in USA for 15 years ,
they are everywhere . I now feel more confident in tackling them again , without the bolt cutter or grinder
I read his autobiography. The safe-cracking parts was a fascinating read.
That's a thousand combinations at most, you madman!
Brilliant!
Yet another reason to idolize Feynman. The guy is my hero.
Love these auto-biography episodes.
William Tutte has a really interesting story that relates to cryptography and WWII.
Liking Feynman more and more every day :D
Oh I see the subtitles, good job :)
I read "Surely you're joking Mr. Feynman", it had stories about his life and growing up. It also included Los Alamos and the safe-cracking business; the way he wrote it was simply hilarious. I recommend it. :)
my father had a safe in his office, I taught myself how to crack it by turning the dial and feeling and listening for a slight detent then reverse, it worked on those old ww2 era safes.
this was the first numberphile I saw years ago
we are the same people
I realized the construction tolerances on padlocks when I was assigned a locker in middle school. That, by far, is the main problem with padlocks and safes.
love prof. bowley
Feynman's safe cracking technique is a glimpse into his genius.
I loved reading this story in "the pleasure of finding things out"
That's such a fantastically beautiful title
Happy birthday to professor Roger bowley =)
Same birthday as him... so honored
Happy birthday!
It's in that Feynman book but I can remember what it was. It did something like the bolt moved if it was already open on the last digit and then you dialed the previous digit.
Story told in more detail in the book, "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman."
please do more videos with Prof. Bowley :)
Very interesting !
When I was 12, I figured out how a luggage combination lock worked. I had a blast messing up peoples combination locks
Feynman was so good, he was out hacking passwords before they were passwords
Hi our excellent subtitles have always been done by a third party - I have no control over when they are done or added!
Richard Feynman is one of my heroes😌
Ese Feynman era un loquillo...
Oh he is awesome!!
Richard Feynman was arguably the most patient man in history
Duh-doy! :P
And Feynman, being the ultimate simplifier in physics, (Feynman diagrams are a beautiful way of representing sub-atomic particles), his ability to distill problems down to it's simplest concepts, really allowed him to achieve much. He and Einstein had the same gift of seeing complex things in simple ways.
Everyone should read Feynman's books, and a few of his biographies written by others, his life was eventful, and the love story with his wife made me shed tears
Bowley is easily one of my favorites. I enjoyed the video! Bring him back on 60symbols for some more physics :)
Also I politely submit a request for something about Transcendental Numbers here on numberfile with Doctor Grimes!
good video... keep going
Several years back I managed to crack an inexpensive Sentry safe just by starting somewhere in the middle and brute forcing every combo in increments of 4 or 5, just like described here. I reasoned that the last number didn't really matter because I could just repeatedly yank on the handle while rapidly turning the dial. This means I really only had to try about 20^2 permutations max (and in practice, only about two-thirds that number). It only took about 10 minutes to get it open.
I didn't get the part where you said "people leave their safe open and there's a drawer in the bottom and he fiddled and remembered the last two number" etc etc, how did that work?
As I understand it, he could feel the mechanism inside the safe and tell when the first two numbers lined up. So while talking, slowly spin the knob until the first number engaged, remember the number. Then spin the knob until the second number engaged, remember the number.
@@thadtheman3751 And nothing is stopping him from getting the third number either.
Nice :D Keep up the hard work, you're going places ^-^
I'm April 21, 1966...so, I'll tip my glass once a year to you from now on. Cheers!
Happy birthday!
true, we kind of Anglicised it there, didn't we!?
Lol stumbled across this, happy birthday
Funny, I just finished reading 'Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman' a couple days ago. I found it excellent, myself.
I did that in high school. My friend's lock had a ±5 margin on the mechanism. A few minutes at a time over weeks, and one day I opened his locker for him. Good times.
I've been doing safe cracking for years. As long as you don't put your fingers between the arms of the nutcracker, it's safe.
I know that's nuts.
Feynman was such a great man
I didn't understand the last one, what do you mean he fiddled with the knobs when the safe was open:
1) on your video it says 2 of the numbers became known, how so?
2) were the correct numbers in position when you opened the safe?
Everyone ought to read Feynman's book 'Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman'. All of this is there, and a lot more (which makes it an excellent read). :)
Thank you! Someone gets it!