Can a Solar Still Generate Enough Fresh Water for Survival? | MythBusters
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2018
- Stranded on an island with just duct tape and plastic wrap, Jamie constructs a solar still to create drinkable water from condensation.
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Развлечения
The US Army taught us about solar stills, but warned us that making enough water to drink was not the point!
In order of importance:
1) They keep you anchored to one spot, basically immobile while waiting for the water to drip, drip, drip.
You chances of being found rise if you don't wander around. Your camp and stills are easy-peasy to spot from the air.
2) By staying still and in some shade, your need for water and food decreases. Less chance of falling/getting hurt. Less chance of encroaching on animal territories.
3) Staying focused on one task prevents 'option panic'; a state where desperate people will 'try anything' to save themselves. "Let's burn the tents and make lots of smoke!"
4) Hope. You see the water droplets form, you don't feel so helpless and alone. A sense of mastery is returned. Fear is displaced by curiosity. "Can we make the still work better?" instead of "Is the still gonna make enough water?"
5) You get enough water to wet your mouth and talk about your big plans for when you all go home.
Their usefulness goes way beyond the water they provide.
neat
Now that’s informative.
cool.
Thank You man. I had no clue about it
Everyone wants to have a good time....but you will not spend time!
Adam: *Gets stranded on an island with a bunch of duct tape*
*Spends 3 hours making a hat out of it*
Well yes. But sun protection.
Typical libtardism lol
Legend
He did find the water source though. Plus the hat doubles as a cup/plate when needed
There's a reason hats were an essential piece of clothing right up until late 20th century. They keep you cooler in the sun, they trap heat at night, and a good hat can be used as a water vessel in a pinch.
"we're stranded on a deserted island with nothing but several miles of duct tape" that sounds like the plot of an awesome reality show
Thomas Devlin Peeper in prof poc
@@lonely.toaster lol
Thomas Devlin nah they’re close to a hotel if you watch part 2 you can see the hotel
I have not seen a fish in subnautica that looks like your logo
Reality Show
aren't real
Y'all just need two buckets of water and make an infinite water source
nrvinl 1 bucket of water and 1 bucket of lava for a cobblestone generator
Xd
You only need a single bucket in Terraria, though. :)
Minecraft
myo win what does that mean
This episode was my favorite when I was about 7 or so. I bought so much duct tape and made shoes and little boats and wallets. Thanks for the great memories
Christian Williams me too, I saw as a child too and I remember how great it was.
Duct tapes the best. You can make a boat with it.
Oh my god the duct tape wallets!! How could I forget?
I still do that every now and again after watching man vs wild.
“why does everything have to be so difficult?”
*mood*
Maddy Metzger *has mental breakdown*
Resident of Doggo world relatable hahah
Maddy Metzger did you know that behind the scenes these guys actually didn’t like each other? So what’s more difficult than what they were talking about is their relationship 😅😭 the more you know
King K’Lana oh wow haha i didn’t know that
K’Lana ooooooooooooooooooooooooooookayÿ
The water stil was a good idea, but I bet the duct tape seams prevented many of the drops from getting to the bucket.
Since it wasnt one big sheet of saran, there was no choice but to stitch them together like that. I think it did pretty well for 2 hours, maybe a shallower hole instead of a small pit mightve helped. Like build a wall on the inside of the hole to keep it from collapsing, so more wet sand was visible to the sun.
Would it be possible to make water stills out of giant leaves? Same idea as before, just instead of clear wrap, you use a huge tree leaf instead?
Cvo777 I mean not rlly since the sun can’t penetrate the leaves, but it might actually work if you left a crack for sunlight
Cvo777 wouldn’t be as promising and reliable though
The system really works, some people in the "brazilian desert" are using that process every day.
Here are a better structure,
ruclips.net/video/YPfrDZuFIns/видео.html
Having experienced brutal abdominal pain drinking straight from flowing mountain streams even when near their source I'd choose better made, multiple & well fed solar stills if there was no way to disinfect the water. You can adapt over time to the far less dangerous microorganisms drinking from fresh water sources but there's still always a chance you'll catch a real nasty one that can straight up kill you without medical assistance.
On an isolated tropical island, risk is reduced.
boil the water if u can?
I would definitely boil the water even from a stream like that. Nobody wants a brain eating amoeba.
@@DDeden Could easily have a bunch of birds up the hill poopin in the water.
@@PaperCut2UGaming Yup, or a dead one upstream. Always a risk, reduce where possible.
If they had some Flex Tape on them, they could just repair the ship they came in using only Flex Tape and leave just fine, even through shark infested waters!
28 STAB WOUNDS
MMedic Just make the boat out of Flex tape.
MMedic eihjbni
*thE inSidE iS cOmplEtely dRy!*
*NOW THATS A LOT OF DAMAGE!*
In the Army, they taught us how to make a solar still using similar techniques. They had us use prickly-pear cactus as the moisture source.
When asked, the instructor admitted that the thing doesn't save your life by giving you enough clean water to drink every day, it saves your life because you stay in one place tending the thing!
Wandering while lost uses up more water than you are likely to find and it makes it harder for searchers to find you!
pretty sound reasoning lol
If I may ask a question. If it doesn't give you enough water to survive on, then how would it be of any use if a search party wasn't close by? Wouldn't it be wiser to instruct a person on what to do in such cases? Please know, I am in no way disrespecting what you were taught. I'm sure you know MUCH more about survival than myself. I only ask the question out of pure curiosity. Thank you🙂
There should be a general rule for everyone to follow while lost. Maybe stack rocks a certain way if you leave your original list point to guide search parties. Maybe break off 3 brackets and place em in a arrow the way you will head.
But isn't prickly-pear cactus edible anyway?
I have to say that while in a survival situation staying put could save your life. Depending on the situation.
"I have to kill for a workbench right now"
-Adam Savage
bruh its just like, 4 wooden planks
how are they gonna get wooden planks
Adam has a Gamer skill, he can figure it out
@@raymondwu9506 punchj a few trees, each log is 4 planks and each tree has log 6 or so logs easily.
They used saran wrap from the pallet; pallet itself would make a good bench
Trees with square tree trunks?🙄
It’s ok, I’ll see myself out.😉
It's funny how I watched this on live TV years ago and it helped me once in a physics test in begging of middle school because one exercise was about this specific method and the cycle of water
3:49 Adam slurps the water...
Adam:"MMM! ITS FRESH!"
3 days later hes in the hospital
Nah the moving water is fine, it is still water you must be careful with.
@@Roof5tone i knoww hahaha it was a joke 😂
But ur right.... Moving water should be more safe than still water
Yeah you always run the risk of getting sick. But drinking from a moving water is a significant risk reducer.
You okay dude? I think you're reading a bit too much into what I said, it is not like I am sat here writing "Always drink moving water definitely and instantly even if you have the option to purify it".
Yeah I figured, just came across very hostile. Had to check up! ^^
1:07 that's what she said
WTF comments 4:27 actually
He said
Alexi Sanchez no.. just no
My man!
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Yes I always pack 300 rolls of flex tape in case of plane crashing
They were on a ship transporting containers of Chinese duct tape, when it sank in a storm off Gilligan's Island. All that floated up were our two hero's and a single pallet of duct tape. Tom Hanks should have been so lucky. Or something.
300 rolls of *duct* tape*
I swear, Mythbusters is just one big Duct Tape ad.
Brett Zolstick thats what big tape doesnt want you to know
Buuuuut;
ruclips.net/video/jEfQAo-BuB0/видео.html
He really prefers almost any other type of tape.
4:46 Me ay 3 am
Oh, you.
Sour Lemon that makes no sense
Sour Lemon omg
Izic Reyes ya it does
@Sour Lemon so u and his mom smack a plastic tube?
With flex tape, Adam and Jamie has built a new nation with nuclear weapons on day 7
Your Neighbour Yes and flex seal
In a week
And inquinate more than Usa
Day 30, Adam and Jamie have engaged upon a world conquest with their rolls of ducktape.
Phil Swift here with an entire civilisation
These guys literally have the best job ever.
0:18
These plants get there water somewhere I just got to find it
It’s called RAIN
and rain collects itself!
Pebbles ajpw yeah but i mean areas with water from the rain form on land, even underground
Warrior 34 there's also some underground
Exactly what I thought!!!
@Pebbles ajpw no the rain comes from evaporation
at 0:53 i thought he had tiny feet XD
Twinkles
Lol
XD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fire Emblem Awakening anyone?
Twinkles lol
😂😂😂
Now rehire the mythbusters and try with *Flextape*
THATS a lotta DAMAGE
Them
I sawed this island in HALF
Yes
I doubt this will ever happen
That duct-tape waterskin is amazing, considering he didn't even have a good, flat area to work in. I wish the water still worked better, it's also an ingenious idea, I think Adam's point about seams is what kinda worked against the still. Amazing regardless.
Nah the results will be the same regardless and either way you'll be drinking the adhesive residue leeched in by the tape.
I wish the solar still were made better. He didn't try.
@@kishascapethe adhesive residue leeched in by the tape… was on the other side of the plastic. Jamie hung the tape then attached the plastic up. Additionally, they’re working with very minute incremental progress while collecting water. Every little bit of efficiency matters. With a streamlined system it would work.
Even though you wont get the recommended amount of water for survival it's still the easiest way to get it. Once set up it will continuously make fresh water for you as long as the sun is out. If I was there that's what I would do the less energy exerted to achieve a goal is the fundamental principle of survival.
3:06 that *damn* sand
Kyle Haynes whooosh
Kyle Haynes clam down, it was a joke you aggressive, fortnite obsessed, Xbox playing nine year old.
Very Pickle no one thought that shit was funny g
@@sirpickle2347lol he deleted his comment
Damp*
I really like that duct tape water bottle
But is it actually good? Cause that sticky part of the duct tape is on the inside where the water is stored.
@@jasonshox6861 I'm sure he lined it with more tape but hey, it's a survival situation.
Jason Shox looked doubled up to me
Mathew I will sell you one for $1000
Let’s make one with Flex tape
Well, I’ll remember these survival lessons the next time I’m stranded on a desolate island with only a huge pile of duct tape...
I'll just bring my PLB along instead so rescuers will know exactly where I am when I beacon.
00:39 actually you can find water from that "balete tree" by cutting those roots/vines.
0:10 that's a damn good lookin hat you got there.
🅱upreme
A boonie would probably be better than a fedora for hiking though.
4:46 minutes is my fav part lmao
YOU just have to make multiple water catchers!!!
I don't think there was enough plastic wrap for more than one. Remember, their use of it was a grey area in the first place because it came on the pack of rolls. There still wasn't that much, though.
Adam even built the duct tape water bottle like an engineer
Imagine if someone ACTUALLY sees the S.O.S sign and try to "save" them?
they were only about a half hours walk from a hotal for safety the SOS was just to show it could be done
@@britishjack9931 everything was done to show it could be done, they even cought a chicken, but ate kfc
@@DanielSultana I know that I only mention the SOS because I was replying to Mena
Who gets stranded on an island with duct tape and plastic wrap?
Jesus that’s a lot of likes lol
a duct tape delivery boy
Christian Wetzel
Seems logical...
This was the duct tape special, where they show the many uses of the handyman's secret weapon.
You never watched Gilligans Island, I take it?
You can get stranded on an island with anything really - broken down boat with some random supplies, life raft, downed aircraft, etc. You never know what you'll have. Best bet is to learn to use anything that is remotely useful.
He didn't seal the edges of the still with dirt, allowing vapor to escape.
Also after only two hours I think it would make enough. Also the starting vapor took extra time to accumulate
Just loves how his beret fits his head perfectly
So the answer is yes- if you can find a freshwater stream 😂
Or you create like 50 of those solar thingys :D
Should have used clay or rocks to make the inside of the still wider, so more water evaporates. Should give him 100% of his RDA of water in a few hours.
he should have been able to get fresh water digging down 100 meters in from the surf line, to the water line , the soil should have filtered out most of the salt to a drinkable state , and he could have used his device to further purify the water if he felt the need.( and no i dont mean digging a hole 100 meters deep) , a plastic bag over a tree branch with leaves will also generate water . It dosnt even have to be transparent just as long as its waterproof like a tent fly or a a garbage bag
You can't filter the salt out of saltwater, that's why it takes a still, or in this case, a solar still.
Yes. At which point you move your camp to the water source; not the other way around. Carrying water would waste both time and calories, both of which are key in a survival situation.
I miss this show, I've heard the two never want to work together again but I would love to see even a couple special reunion episodes.
Discovery cancelled the show....they had a new project after mythbusters ended.
Just because you're not friends doesnt mean you can't be good colleges.
I love these guys. Always amaze me with their ingenuity
I remember this being my favorite episode when it originally aired.
If you put sea water instead of the boulder on top, you have a much faster condensation rate.
"Slaps water"
this was my all time favorite episode they did
I love this channel! I actually could learn more things I didn’t know!
Need more mythbusting on survival myths!
I remember watching this show back in the early 2000's and now one of the team passed away 2 years ago and most of them stopped working doing this only adam is still doing videos
Jamie Hyneman is still alive as is Adam Savage. When do you think Jamie Hyneman died?
It was one of the others. The Japanese gentleman i believe
@@annethomson4920 Continuing the 'one response per year trend here, I think it was Grant that died.
This is correct. Grant Imahara died in 2020 from a ruptured brain aneurism. I met him once at Comic Con. He seemed like a good guy.
I have to watch this for school. I remember when this episode was new on TV
Very interesting thank you for giving me a hint in my science project!
Love myth busters
Survival Tip:
first find a duct tape and plastic wrap.
I remember this was my favorite episode when i was younger
I remember watching them ever since I was 3, we were in my old house and me and my brother would just binge watch it, orange juices ready. It was the only time we could get along.
Adam: Clearly these plants are all getting their water from somewhere!
Rain: Am I a joke to you?
No hate, just laughter
00:51 look at those tiny feet😂😂😂
This seems like it'd be really fun to try just as a challenge with a few friends, except for ya know, the dire catastrophic physical consequences if something were to go badly wrong.
I've seen so many iterations of this episode on so many different corporate channels. At least 5 different times has this been uploaded
Anyone else remember this from Voyage of the Mimi? That's how I first learned about solar stills when I was a kid. We watched all the shows in science class at school and then we did a project where we made miniature ones.
Omg. I loved Voyage of the Mimi
3:36 I ask myself the same question every single day of my life 😂
That small waterfall and pond thing in the jungle looked so peaceful
Sick vid and I tried this in Maldives
The plastic idea is actually pretty good. If you set like 5 of those all day long collecting water. It's an infinite source.
@KawaZrana it would have been better if his salt water source at the bottom wasn't so small
good luck finding shit tonnes of duct tape and cling wrap
I don’t know why he didn’t bother to try to pour a lot of salt water in there too, have a lot more water to evaporate, although bear grills recommended peeing in it
It's not mine raft so there's no such idea as infinite water
@@sangun123 what if he had two "cups?" One full of salt water and the other empty? With all of that plastic, he could've had several of those up and running at once and in more visible light.
0:36 Bear Grylls: "Better drink my own piss"
*IMPROVISE. ADAPT. OVERCOME.*
ur not funny dont like ur own commment
Well at least you're not the only one
Myth busters was hands down one of the best shows out there, if they were my teachers at school I'd have learnt so much more
I just started watching y’all and I love it already
Given that jamie got that much out of just a couple of hours it seems pretty viable to me. Leave it alone all day and maybe set up a couple more and you've got a water supply.
“It’s all ready getting moist!”
-Jamie
To make it work much better use some green foliage underneath next time. Helps to build the moisture.
You could improve the efficiency by placing a bottle with a shoelace or something going into it from the middle of the still, that way water drips down into the bottle and can’t easily evaporate back out like it can with Adams design
moral of the story : the duct tape is a life saver.
You’d need something to have the water to droop down into the cup, like a small rock or stick.
Also maybe this works better with something black.
And yeah, trying to find big ass trees so that a waterfall or pond could be collected from.
One problem though, you gotta worry about parasites!
if the cup is clean of sand there is no worry, parasites don't evaporate
The shape of the canopy does it mostly for you. Cohesion keeps the droplets on the cling film until they reach the epicenter (lowest point), and gravity eventually becomes the stronger force as moisture collects on itself.
I love watching this on TV
Adam's in the shade, has all the time in the world to perfect his canteens b/c if he gets thirsty, the stream is right there, and beautiful scenery to boot.
Red Green would be proud.
If you don't find Adam handsome, you'd at least find him handy.
If you let it sit down before its necessary it may be a tiny bit more efficient.
Gotta love mythbusters great work guys
It looks like they were able to generate a scant 100ml or so from much less than 1m^2 of usable collection surface in 2 hours near midday. Even so, that could already amount to 1.2 litres a day: probably more, because the evaporation/condensation process works best when the ground is warm but the ambient air is cold. (Ask any painter.)
A much larger surface would have been easy with the sheet that was already built up from shrink wrap. It just needed to be deployed better. Laying it over a small hole is silly. Find a large hollow and dig out the center area.
Don't contaminate the precious sheet by laying it directly on sand, but build up a raised airtight perimeter out of beach logs or deadfall. Higher is better because you can get a steeper slope toward the center without touching something.
Don't use sand to weigh down the center, but use a suitable sized pebble. You don't want a catenary shape but a straight decline to a sharp center point. Then the moisture has its best chance to roll down and drip off where the collection cup is, freeing the surface to condense more water. This change alone will easily double rhe output of the collector.
How do I know this? Because I started building them sixty years ago, following instructions in a monthly "Things of Science" mailout that AAAS used to run for children. They had lots of cool stuff on hydroponics and crystals and diffeaction, even computer programming. This one stuck with me because I was also into camping.
I like Mythbusters. They often do credible science. This clip however is not a good example. There was essentially none of the above analysis. That's not doing science, it's just theatre.
We need a Netflix for just science shows
4:34 he named the water bottle Phillip???
No he said hurry up baby fill up
Thank u for this video
I find it funny I learned 1:47 that trick watching Mobile Suit Gundam 08th MS Team. The Episode Gundam's in the Desert had one of the main character make this very same device to collect water in the desert.
The "Naked & Afraid" contestants should consider 1 roll of duct tape as the personal item to bring along. Perfect for sandals and water containers. Let the other person bring the fire starter or blade device. Most episodes prove that foot coverings are very important for transitioning to locations.
One contestant actually did! Unfortunately he was a smoker and caffeine consumer-he supposedly went cold turkey and tapped out...
They are living legends !
You can always duct tape large leaves into collection bottles. Or use the round shape of the duct tapes to make water bowls with a lid on top.
This was the weirdest and coolest videos I've ever seen, but I love it
Man I miss Mythbusters!
Missbusters
Lol. That’s in North Shore Hawai’i Oahu😂😂
They left out the part where they catch the wild chicken...from KFC.
In Australia which I read in Australian Geographic Magazine (unverified), we tie transparent durable plastic bags around plants leaves/branch to utilise condensation to collect water. I haven't seen that shared in RUclips survival videos. Please investigate the aforementioned and maybe do a video to share with people to help save lives. Thanks. : )
You gotta make part 2
Who carries THAT much duct tape in ANY scenario? 🤨
I do
Who doesn’t
Real men. That's who. Bearded men. Obey the Beard
M. Happy I do
Guilty
3:39 why does everything have to be so *cOMPLICATED*
Never gettin bored with mythbuster 😁😁😁👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Why doesnt he try to tap a vine or a tree. They give off quite a bit of water
You just make more of them.....its a beach ffs. Large leaves tied over the hole should have a similar effect - creating humidity instead of needing clear plastic.
actually it's very important for the plastic to be clear so that it creates a greenhouse simply using leaves wouldn't produce enough condensation and thus wouldn't work personally I think his issue was that his solar still was poorly made rather than it simply not being a reliable source of water
I've seen it done before, with the sun beating down on the spot its possible to get some humidity going.
Johnston Steiner They've done that zombie experiment with multiple weapons...
Wrong, they never produce enough water to be sueful @@degiguess
that stream is something out of a fantasy when looking for fresh water. LOL I think they definitely researched the territory before becoming "stranded"
The end is got me!
One dude is laughing then over is half dead!
I really love the difference of the personality and mindset between these two. Adam = Short Term, Jamie = Long Term solution.
That's the importance of having a mindset balance in a survival situation. If one person is focused on fixing short term problems, it makes finding a long term solution quicker and easier.
How to survive in the wild Guidebook:
Step 1. *_Have a massive load of Duct Tape and Plastic Wraps._*
My favorite MythBusters episode ever
i remember watching this when it came out
It took me a second to make sense of the title.