MythBuser’s Propane Tank Peril

In the James Bond Movie Casino Royale, there is a scene where Bond is trapped by the bad guys so he shoots a propane tank and makes his getaway in the ensuing explosion. In this scene, he uses a 9mm pistol to shoot the propane tank from a distance of about 20 feet. Kari, Grant and Tory took a look at the reality behind this scene in the MythBusters segment entitled “Propane Tank Peril”.


The first step in testing was for the team to shoot at some empty propane tanks and see what type of damage the bullets would do. They take some tanks out to the Alameida gun range. Using the same 9mm pistol that Bond used in Casino Royale, Kari takes aim at the tank from 20 feet. Kari takes two shot at the tank and neither round is able to pierce the tank. They next try a shotgun (type and ammo not specified) and are able to pierce the front of the tank but it does not exit the back. The third gun that they try is a .30-06 rifle. The round from this rifle is able to penetrate all the way through the tank.


The team believes that the myth is already busted due to the inability of the 9mm to pierce the tank but they do not want to call it quits until they blow up the tank. Kari believes that in order for the tank to blow up they will need to use the .30-06 rifle. The round will need to pierce the front of the tank to expose the propane to oxygen and exit the back in order to spark the propane.


To test the next part of the theory, the team brings in some full propane tanks. They use 22 gallon tanks with a tank pressure of 240 psi. The tank is staked to the ground to prevent it from flying of when it is punctured or exploded. It should go without saying but this type of activity should not be done by anyone. There is a good chance that it could kill or maim you.


Kari is again the shooter and she scores a direct hit with the .30-06. The round pierces the tank completely resulting in a rapid decompression but no explosion. They up the ante on the next round by using tracer rounds. Tracer rounds have a small amount of burning phosphorous at their base and the team theorizes that this may ignite the propane. They fire multiple rounds at the tank thinking that a secondary tracer may ignite the propane but end up with the same results. The bullets do not make the tank explode.


Deciding that they can not walk away from the experiment without an explosion, they call in the bomb squad. The bomb squad sets up an incendiary charge on a propane tank. The team dresses Buster the crash test dummy in his best James Bond garb and places him 20 feet from the tank. The charge does the trick and there is a massive explosion and fireball. The team did not discuss the effect on Buster but the footage did not make it look like a pleasant experience for him.


Once back at the workshop the team decides to take it one step further. They pack up the gear and head to secret location to try incendiary rounds on the propane tank. Incendiary rounds are packed with combustible material at the tip and core that burns at a very high temperature. Through some acquaintances of Jamie, they are able to use a Gatlin mini gun that is capable of firing 50 rounds per second. Grant gets to do the honors and he rips away at the propane tank with the Gatlin gun. The team is rewarded with a very large explosion.


The team determines the myth to be busted. Bond could not have created the explosion using the pistol he had in the movie. The rounds would not have pierced the tank. Bond would have needed some much more serious firepower to make the movie explosion.


Myth: Can a bullet fired from a 9mm handgun ignite a propane tank?
Status: Busted


Segment: Propane Tank Peril
Episode: James Bond Special
Season: Season 5
Original Air Date: 16 January 2008

Do Non-Parallel Shadows in Moon Landing Photos prove a NASA Hoax?

On 16 July 1969, the Apollo 11 mission launched from Florida bound for the moon. Five days later, Neil Armstrong was the first of 12 NASA astronauts to step on the moon. At least that is the commonly held belief. According to some recent polls, 20% of people believe that the Apollo moon landings were a hoax staged by NASA. In the episode entitled “NASA Moon Landing”, the MythBusters team took a look at some of the evidence that the conspiracy theorists put forward as proof that NASA astronauts never made it to the moon.


One piece of evidence that moon landing conspiracy theorist cite is the shadows in some of the NASA photographs. On the moon, the sun is the only source of light. With the one light source, the conspiracy theorists state that all shadows in the moon photos should run parallel to each other. In some of the NASA photos, the shadows clearly are not parallel to each other. This, according to the conspiracy theorists, is proof that the photos were shot on a stage with multiple light sources and not on the moon.


Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage take a look at this conspiracy theory. NASA photo A514-68-9487 is one of the photos that shows shadows that are not parallel. In this photo, the shadow from the LEM (Lunar Excursion Module) goes off in a different direction than the shadows of some rocks in the foreground. Jamie and Adam are going to try to recreate the photo using a single light source and a scale model of the LEM on a simulated moonscape.


Jamie and Adam recreate the scene from the NASA photo. They use a spotlight as the single light source in place of the sun. To recreate the lunar surface, Jamie uses a spandex surface that he sprinkles with a mixture of Portland cement and bone black powder. They place a model of the LEM with a couple of rocks in the foreground just like in the picture. In order to see how this will photograph, they use a camera that is very similar to the type used by the astronauts and add a digital adapter in order to get a live feed.


On the first test with a flat surface and the single light source, they get a picture showing parallel shadows. Adam believes that the non-parallel lines in the NASA picture are probably caused by the uneven topography of the moon. To test this theory, they build up contours and imperfections similar to the landscape shown in the picture. With these features the single light source picture comes out with non-parallel shadows just like the NASA photo. The uneven topography does cause the shadows to shift out of line.


While this experiment was done on a stage just like the conspiracy theorists claim, their hoax claim is still busted. As Adam explained, the conspiracy theorists are saying that the non-parallel shadows prove that these photos were taken on a stage. MythBusters showed that the NASA photos are consistent with being taken on the moon.


Myth: Non-parallel shadows in NASA moon landing photographs show that these photographs were a hoax.


Status: Busted


Episode: MythBusters’ NASA Moon Landing


Air Date: 27 August, 2008