Street Science (2017–…): Season 2, Episode 14 - Dead Drop Danger - full transcript

Kevin and his team of experts test the laws of gravity in a series of wild, Galileo-inspired experiments.

ALL RIGHT. GO FOR IT.

Delaney: GRAVITY CAN BE A BLAST.

-OH! -WHOA! -WHOA!

Delaney: UNTIL YOU TAKE FLIGHT.

THREE, TWO, ONE.

-[ LAUGHS ] -OH, NO!

WHY'D YOU THROW IT THERE?

Delaney: WE'RE ENJOYING THE UPS...

-WHOO! -WHOA!

...AND DOWNS OF GRAVITY.

LET'S GO!



YEAH!

Delaney: GET READY FOR A CRASH LANDING.

ANYBODY ELSE'S HEART POUNDING?

WHAT HEART?

Delaney: MY NAME IS KEVIN DELANEY.

I'VE BEEN SHOWING OFF THE
MAGIC OF SCIENCE FOR YEARS,

FROM MUSEUMS TO TALK SHOWS.

WE'RE TAKING SCIENCE TO THE STREETS

AND COMBINING EVERYDAY ELEMENTS

IN WAYS THAT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND.

I'VE GOT A TALENTED TEAM
OF ENGINEERS AND EXPERTS,

INCLUDING "THE BACKYARD
SCIENTIST" HIMSELF...

WAIT, THAT WAS A TWIST-OFF?

...AND OUR CINEMATOGRAPHER, DARREN,



WHO USES HIGH-TECH
CAMERAS TO REVEAL THE SCIENCE

THAT SURROUNDS US IN WAYS
YOU'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE.

Dyk: THAT'S GNARLY.

THIS IS "STREET SCIENCE."

[ PEOPLE SCREAMING ]

-THIS LOOKS INTENSE. -FALCON'S FURY.

THIS ONE OF THE DROP THINGS
THAT DROPS YOU, LIKE, REAL FAST?

Emig: YEAH, IT DROPS
YOU FROM OVER 300 FEET.

SHOULD BE PRETTY FUN.

-FREE FALL? -LET'S DO THIS.

DO YOU THINK THEY'LL LET ME
DROP SOMETHING OFF THE TOP

AS WE FALL? -KEVIN... [ LAUGHTER ]

Delaney: WE'RE AT A TAMPA
AMUSEMENT PARK FOR A FEW SCREAMS...

[ SCREAMING ]

...AND TO DO A LITTLE HANDS-ON RESEARCH.

-OH! -[ LAUGHS ]

I DIG IT.

♪♪

Delaney: THE THRILL OF FALLING IS POSSIBLE

THANKS TO ONE SIMPLE THING... [ SCREAMING ]

...GRAVITY.

FREE-FALLING HAPPENS AT ABOUT
32 FEET PER SECOND SQUARED.

Man: OH, HO, HO, HO, HO!

IT REALLY MADE ME
WONDER, LIKE, WHAT HAPPENS

IF YOU COULD DROP TWO DIFFERENT
THINGS AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS?

-OH... -[ SCREAMING ]

- YOU WANT TO DROP SOME STUFF?
- YEAH, THAT'D BE COOL.

LET'S TRY TO RE-CREATE THE TOWER OF PISA...

HOW GALILEO WAS DROPPING
OBJECTS TO TRY TO SEE

IF THEY FELL AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS.

-YEAH. -SO, WHAT WAS THAT?

LIKE 180-SOMETHING FEET? -YEAH.

LET'S DROP SOME STUFF FROM THAT HEIGHT.

ALL RIGHT. GO "STREET SCIENCE"!

-[ LAUGHS ] -NOPE.

AGAIN, YOU'RE ALONE. -[ LAUGHTER ]

♪♪

Delaney: LEGEND HAS IT
THAT IN THE LATE 1500s,

GALILEO STOOD ON A BALCONY
NEAR THE TOP OF THE TOWER OF PISA

AND DROPPED CANNON
BALLS OF DIFFERENT WEIGHTS.

HE SET OUT TO PROVE THAT
GRAVITY CAUSES ALL OBJECTS

TO FALL AT THE SAME RATE.

SO WE WANT TO PUT
GALILEO'S THEORY TO THE TEST.

WE DON'T HAVE THE TOWER OF
PISA, BUT WHAT I BROUGHT IS A CRANE.

Delaney: THE TOP OF OUR CRANE
IS ALMOST THE SAME HEIGHT

AS THE TOP BALCONY ON THE
TOWER OF PISA... ABOUT 150 FEET.

WE'VE COME TO ADAMS MIDDLE SCHOOL

TO BORROW THEIR SOCCER FIELD.

HERE, WE'LL DROP DIFFERENT OBJECTS TO SEE

IF THEY LAND AT THE SAME TIME.

SO, WE HAVE A PILLOW AND A WATERMELON.

WHEN WE DROP THESE
OBJECTS FROM THE SAME HEIGHT,

WHICH DO YOU THINK IS
GONNA HIT THE GROUND FIRST?

-MM. FROM THE SAME HEIGHT? -YEAH.

I'M GONNA SAY THE WATERMELON.

WHY THE WATERMELON?

'CAUSE THERE'S GONNA BE
AIR PUSHING AGAINST THIS,

SO I THINK THAT'S GONNA GO STRAIGHT DOWN.

WELL, I THINK THE WATERMELON WOULD,

BECAUSE I BELIEVE IT'S HEAVIER.

I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THE WATERMELON.

YOU WANT TO COME DROP SOME STUFF WITH US?

-OH, YEAH. FOR SURE. -ALL RIGHT. COOL.

Householder: WE HAVE TWO OBJECTS
HANGING FROM THE SAME QUICK RELEASE,

SO WHEN WE PULL THE PIN OUT,

BOTH OBJECTS WILL FALL AT THE SAME TIME.

WE HAVE A ONE-POUND PILLOW,
A THREE-POUND WATERMELON.

SO I'M BETTING ON THE WATERMELON.

Delaney: SURE, AT THIS HEIGHT,
THEY LAND AT THE SAME TIME.

BUT WHAT ABOUT FROM 15 STORIES HIGH?

ALL RIGHT, CHRIS. GO AHEAD AND TAKE IT UP.

Delaney: EARTH'S GRAVITATIONAL
PULL SHOULD BE THE SAME

ON ANY OBJECT.

IT'S ABOUT 32 FEET PER SECOND SQUARED.

SO WITH THE PILLOW AND THE
WATERMELON LIFTED TO 150 FEET,

WE'LL DROP THEM AND
PUT GRAVITY TO THE TEST.

IT'S PRETTY HIGH.

EVERYBODY READY?

YEP. LET'S DO THIS.

ALL RIGHT, KEVIN. GO AHEAD.

OKAY.

Man: OH, THERE IT GOES!

-OH! -WHOA!

THAT WAS A BIG SPLAT.

YEAH.

THAT PILLOW GENTLY FLOATED
DOWN LIKE A BEAUTIFUL DOVE.

YEAH. [ LAUGHS ]

SO, WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK?

I THOUGHT IT WAS PRETTY GREAT, YEAH.

NOT TOO BAD.

Householder: WHY DIDN'T THESE TWO
OBJECTS HIT THE GROUND AT THE SAME TIME?

THE AIR RESISTANCE.

THE PILLOW IS LIGHT,
IT'S BIG, IT'S AWKWARD.

AS IT FALLS THROUGH THE AIR,
THE AIR MOLECULES ALL HAVE

TO GET OUT OF THE WAY,
AND THAT'S DIFFICULT.

AND BECAUSE IT'S SO
LIGHT, IT'S WAY MORE EASILY

AFFECTED BY THAT AIR RESISTANCE.

SO PILLOW HITS THE GROUND SECOND.

SO, HERE'S THE INTERESTING THING.

AIR RESISTANCE ADDS UP OVER TIME.

OVER A SHORT DISTANCE, THE TWO OBJECTS

ARE GONNA FALL AT THE SAME SPEED.

NEXT WE'LL TRY SOMETHING THAT'S
A LITTLE BIT MORE CHALLENGING.

ALL RIGHT. SOUNDS GOOD.

Delaney: KEVIN'S BRAINSTORM ON
WHAT TO DROP NEXT WILL HAVE TO WAIT,

BECAUSE WE HAVE A PLAN
TO COMPLETELY DEFY GRAVITY.

♪♪

NOW THE TEAM IS GOING
ON THE RIDE OF THEIR LIVES,

KNOWN AS THE ZERO-G EXPERIENCE.

IT'S POSSIBLE TO PLAY IN ZERO
GRAVITY JUST LIKE THE ASTRONAUTS

WITHOUT GOING INTO SPACE.

IF YOU WERE IN A ZERO-GRAVITY ENVIRONMENT,

WHAT KIND OF EXPERIMENTS
WOULD YOU WANT TO TRY?

MAYBE EATING SOMETHING. [ CHUCKLES ]

I ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WOULD BE KIND OF COOL

TO BE ABLE TO DRINK WATER
OR SOMETHING UPSIDE DOWN.

[ Russian accent ] I THINK
IT WOULD BE AWESOME

TO FLY ON A MAGIC CARPET.

-YEAH! -EXCELLENT.

Delaney: I'M HAPPY TO WATCH THIS
FLIGHT FROM THE GROUND SO DARREN, NICK,

AND KEVIN CAN TRY OUT THESE EXPERIMENTS.

ALL RIGHT, GENTLEMEN, ARE YOU READY?

-WE'RE READY. -SO READY.

DO YOU HAVE THE RIGHT STUFF?

WE GOT THE STUFF.

YOU CERTAINLY DO HAVE SOME STUFF.

Kohler: WE'RE ABOUT TO GO
ON THIS ZERO-GRAVITY PLANE.

AND IT MIGHT NOT BE THE
BEST TIME TO MENTION,

I'M A LITTLE BIT SCARED OF FLYING.

Householder: I'M SO EXCITED.

I'VE WANTED TO DO THIS MY WHOLE LIFE.

Kohler: THE WAY THAT IT MAKES ZERO GRAVITY

IS JUST BY KIND OF DOING
A LITTLE SLIGHT NOSEDIVE,

SO YOU'RE FALLING WITH THE
PLANE ON THE INSIDE OF THE PLANE.

SO YOU JUST FLOAT IN THE AIR LIKE THAT.

Delaney: TO GO WEIGHTLESS, THE
PILOTS MAKE A SERIES OF PARABOLAS

AT ABOUT 24,000 FEET.

THE MANEUVER IS SOMEWHAT
LIKE A ROLLER COASTER.

THE PLANE IS TILTED UPWARD
AT APPROXIMATELY 45 DEGREES,

WHICH ALMOST DOUBLES THE G-FORCE
PASSENGERS EXPERIENCE ON EARTH.

AS THE PLANE GOES OVER THE TOP OF THE ARC,

THE FORCE EXERTED ON
THE PLANE AND PASSENGERS...

WHOA! [ LAUGHS ]

Delaney: ...CANCELS OUT
THE FORCE OF GRAVITY

THAT'S PULLING DOWNWARDS.

THIS CREATES A SHORT
PERIOD OF WEIGHTLESSNESS

BECAUSE ALMOST NO
GRAVITATIONAL FORCES ARE PRESENT.

THEN THE PLANE PITCHES
DOWN AT A 30-DEGREE ANGLE

FOR A CONTROLLED FREE FALL.

NICK, HIGH-FIVE ME.

[ LAUGHS ]

ASTRONAUTS TRAIN IN SIMILAR
SPECIALLY-FITTED AIRCRAFTS

NICKNAMED "VOMIT COMETS."

THAT'S BECAUSE NOT EVERYONE
CAN STOMACH THE RAPID SWITCH

FROM UPWARD TO DOWNWARD MOTION.

Dyk: THE SLIGHTEST BIT OF
MOVEMENT WILL JUST SEND YOU

ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE ROOM.

IT'S UNREAL.

Delaney: WEIGHTLESSNESS
ONLY LASTS FOR 30 SECONDS.

THEY MUST LAY DOWN WHILE THE
PLANE CLIMBS FOR THE NEXT DIVE.

ENOUGH TIME TO PLAN A ZERO-G
EXPERIMENT WITH A WET TOWEL.

I WANT TO SEE IF IT JUST SPRAYS EVERYWHERE.

WHAT IF IT FALLS OFF AND FORMS A BIG BALL?

ALL RIGHT. WELL, HERE WE GO.

IT'S TIME TO FIND OUT.

ALL RIGHT, GUYS.

LET'S FIND OUT.

WOW!

-== [ www.OpenSubtitles.org ] ==-

OH, MY GOODNESS.

Delaney: KEVIN, NICK, AND
DARREN ARE TAKING FLIGHT

TO SEE WHAT REALLY HAPPENS IN ZERO GRAVITY.

FIRST UP, A WET WASHCLOTH.

ALL RIGHT, GUYS.

LET'S FIND OUT.

-WOW! -WHOA!

LOOK AT THAT! IT'S STICKING
TO YOUR HAND, DUDE.

Dyk: WHEN NICK STARTED
TO WRING OUT THAT TOWEL,

YOU WOULD EXPECT THE WATER TO FLY AROUND,

MAYBE JUST FLOAT HERE.

BUT IT ACTUALLY STARTED TO
SEEP UP HIS HAND LIKE IT WAS ALIVE,

CREATING THIS WATER, LIKE, GLOVE.

OH, MY GOODNESS. WHOA!

DUDE, IT'S WRAPPING AROUND YOUR HAND.

IT'S ACTUALLY STICKING TO IT.

THAT'S SO CRAZY!

IT'S LIKE A LITTLE GLOVE AROUND YOUR HAND.

THAT'S TIGHT.

Woman: COMING DOWN!

THAT IS SO GOOD.

INSTEAD OF FLYING EVERYWHERE,

ALL THE WATER STICKS TO THE TOWEL.

WHY DOES IT DO THAT?

SURFACE TENSION.

Delaney: THE WATER RUNS
ALONG THE SURFACE OF THE CLOTH

AND CLINGS TO NICK'S HANDS,

BEHAVING MORE LIKE GELATIN THAN LIQUID.

THAT'S BECAUSE WATER HAS SURFACE TENSION.

ITS SURFACE ACTS LIKE A THIN ELASTIC SHEET.

ON EARTH, THE FORCE OF
GRAVITY BREAKS UP THAT SHEET.

♪♪

I SAW THIS ON "DOCTOR WHO" ONCE.

IF YOU THROW A BALL FORWARD,
WOULD YOU MOVE BACKWARDS?

AND COULD YOU PROPEL
YOURSELF IN OUTER SPACE?

WE'RE GONNA SEE WHAT HAPPENS TO
YOU AFTER YOU THROW THOSE BALLS.

THREE, TWO, ONE.

[ LAUGHS ] OH, NO!

WHY'D YOU THROW IT THERE?

YOU THREW IT TOO HARD.

ON THE GROUND, ON THE
GROUND, ON THE GROU... OH!

GOT IT.

Householder: THEORETICALLY, THIS DOES WORK.

THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF MOMENTUM

TRANSFERRED WHEN YOU THROW
A BALL AND IT PUSHES BACK ON YOU.

BUT A BALL THAT SMALL AND THAT LIGHT

IS GONNA HAVE A NEGLIGIBLE EFFECT.

WHAT WE HAD TO DO WAS
STEP IT UP AND SUPERSIZE IT.

WE TOOK DARREN AND BALLED
HIM UP AND THREW HIM AROUND.

THREE, TWO, ONE.

-WHOO! -WHOA!

♪♪

Householder: AS SOON AS I, LIKE, PUSH
OFF ONE OF YOU, I WOULD GO ONE WAY,

AND YOU WOULD GO THE OTHER WAY.

IT SHOWS THAT, LIKE, EVERY ACTION

HAS THAT EQUAL AND OPPOSITE REACTION.

AND IN ZERO GRAVITY,
IT'S A LOT OF REACTION.

-GO IN A BALL. -I GOT YA.

[ FAN WHIRS ]

Delaney: NEXT, NICK WANTS TO
PROPEL HIMSELF LIKE A ROCKET.

THESE ARE HIGH-POWERED FANS.

[ FAN WHIRS ]

IT BLOWS AIR OUT AT OVER 220 MILES AN HOUR

IN THIS VERY NARROW JET.

ALL RIGHT. HERE WE GO.

LET'S SEE.

[ FANS WHIRRING ] OH, THAT'S...

THIS GIVES ME A LITTLE BIT OF THRUST.

WITH TWO OF THESE TOGETHER,

I WAS MOSTLY ABLE TO JUST SPIN AROUND.

I THINK IT'S JUST SPINNING ME.

SO I HAD TO TAKE THE TWO
TOGETHER, PUT THEM AT MY SIDES,

AND THEN I WAS ABLE TO
ACTUALLY MOVE AROUND.

[ FANS WHIRRING ] WAIT, IT'S WORKING!

IT'S PUSHING YOU. IT'S WORKING.

Delaney: EVERYONE KNOWS
OIL AND WATER DON'T MIX.

THAT'S BECAUSE WATER MOLECULES
ARE DENSER THAN OIL MOLECULES.

THE MORE DENSE LIQUID, WATER, SINKS,

WHILE THE LESS DENSE LIQUID, OIL, FLOATS.

SO, I KNOW THAT OIL AND
WATER DON'T MIX HERE ON EARTH,

BUT RUMOR HAS IT THAT THEY
ACTUALLY DO MIX IN SPACE.

IS THAT TRUE?

ALL RIGHT.

WE GOT OIL AND WATER NOT MIXED.

MIXING THEM UP.

AND THERE YOU GO.

IT'S ALL TOGETHER.

IT'S NOT SEPARATED AT ALL.

WHAT'S COOL IS, IF I SPIN IT...

OH, THAT'S COOL.

THEY BOTH GO TO OPPOSITE SIDES.

IT STARTS TO SEPARATE.

BUT IF YOU REALLY WANT TO SEE IT SEPARATE,

WATCH US GO THROUGH A
BUNCH OF G's RIGHT NOW.

Delaney: AS THE PLANE STARTS TO
CLIMB, THE DOWNWARD FORCE INCREASES

TO ALMOST TWICE NORMAL GRAVITY,

AND THE OIL AND WATER
SEPARATE TWICE AS FAST.

IT'S ALL SEPARATED ALREADY.

NEXT, HOW ABOUT A MAGIC CARPET RIDE?

-READY? -YEAH.

HERE HE GOES.

OH, THIS ONE FEELS WEIRD.

ALL RIGHT, HERE WE GO.

YOU'RE ON A MAGIC CARPET RIDE, KEVIN.

-WHOO-HOO! -LET'S GO!

YEAH!

WHOO! PUSH ME.

YEAH.

[ LAUGHS ] YOU'RE SUPERMAN ON THE CARPET.

THERE YOU GO.

Householder: THE WAY A MAGIC
CARPET WORKS IS IT'S HOLDING YOU UP

AS YOU FLY THROUGH THE AIR.

NOW, IN ZERO GRAVITY, THE MAGIC CARPET

JUST KIND OF FLOATS UP THERE WITH YOU.

IT DOESN'T REALLY STICK TO YOUR BUTT.

OH, LOOK AT THIS.

THAT'S CRAZY.

WHOO!

SNIPED.

Delaney: IT'S ABOUT TIME FOR
THE TEAM TO RETURN TO EARTH.

OH!

Woman: THAT'S WHY WE LAY TILL THE END.

-YEP. -WHOO!

I FEEL LIKE AN ASTRONAUT.

AN ASTRONAUT, HUH?

YEAH, BUDDY.

THERE YOU GO.

IT'S OFFICIAL. WE'RE BACK ON EARTH.

♪♪

Delaney: NOW THAT EVERYONE'S BACK ON EARTH,

IT'S TIME TO PUT ALL THIS
GRAVITY TO GOOD USE.

WE'RE BACK AT THE SOCCER
FIELD TO DROP EVEN HEAVIER STUFF.

WHICH IS GONNA FALL FASTER
...15-POUND BOWLING BALL,

1.5-POUND BASKETBALL?

I THINK THE BOWLING
BALL'S GONNA FALL FASTER

'CAUSE IT'S HEAVIER.

PROBABLY BOTH IT AT THE SAME TIME.

Delaney: GRAVITY SHOULD
PULL ON BOTH BALLS EQUALLY.

THEY'RE THE SAME SHAPE AND SIZE,

BUT THE BOWLING BALL WEIGHS 15 POUNDS,

AND THE BASKETBALL WEIGHS 1.5 POUNDS.

SO 10 TIMES MORE WEIGHT.

WILL THIS WORK BETTER?

THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT.

♪♪

-KEVIN, YOU READY? -I'M READY.

Kohler: THREE, TWO, ONE.

Delaney: WE ARE GOING TO GREAT HEIGHTS

TO COMPARE HOW HEAVY
AND LIGHT OBJECTS FALL.

NOW IT'S BOWLING BALL VERSUS BASKETBALL.

-KEVIN, YOU READY? -I'M READY.

ALL RIGHT. GO FOR IT.

ALL RIGHT. THREE, TWO, ONE.

♪♪

-OOH. WOW. -WHOO-WHEE!

-NICE. -[ LAUGHS ]

Delaney: THEORETICALLY, THEY
SHOULD HAVE LANDED TOGETHER.

BUT THE HEAVIER BALL LANDED FIRST.

THEY WERE SIMILAR-SIZED
OBJECTS, RIGHT, KEVIN,

BUT VERY DIFFERENT WEIGHTS.

YEAH, THEY FELL AT DIFFERENT TIMES.

THEY HIT THE GROUND AT DIFFERENT TIMES.

YEAH.

SO, DO YOU THINK THERE WAS
A LITTLE BIT OF AIR RESISTANCE

INVOLVED?

-THERE WAS. -WHAT SHOULD WE DO NEXT?

WHAT ABOUT TWO OBJECTS THAT
ARE BASICALLY THE SAME SIZE?

ALL RIGHT.

Delaney: THESE TWO
BOWLING BALLS ARE IDENTICAL

EXCEPT FOR THEIR WEIGHT.

ONE IS SIX POUNDS HEAVIER THAN THE OTHER.

WE ARE ELIMINATING ANY POSSIBLE DIFFERENCE

CAUSED BY AIR RESISTANCE

BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE
SAME SHAPE AND SURFACE.

THIS IS WHAT GALILEO REPORTEDLY DID.

HE DROPPED IDENTICALLY-SHAPED OBJECTS

OF SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT WEIGHTS.

All: THREE, TWO, ONE.

-WHOA! -OOH!

-[ LAUGHS ] -THAT WAS A GOOD ONE.

WHOA!

Woman: THAT WAS UNEXPECTED.

WE BOTH THOUGHT THAT THEY
WERE GONNA FALL AT THE SAME TIME,

'CAUSE WE'VE ALWAYS
HEARD, GALILEO'S EXPERIMENT,

THEY FALL AND THEY LAND AT THE SAME TIME.

SO WE WERE REALLY SURPRISED
WHEN ONE HIT BEFORE THE OTHER.

MY BEST GUESS IS THAT ANY
SORT OF SLIGHT VARIATION

IN AERODYNAMIC EFFECTS COMPOUND OVER TIME.

SO EVEN THOUGH THE PHYSICS TELLS US

THAT THEY SHOULD HIT AT THE SAME TIME,

ALL THAT AIR BETWEEN UP THERE

AND DOWN HERE IS GONNA PLAY A BIG PART.

YEAH.

THE ONLY WAY TO GET THE REAL EFFECT

OF HAVING BOTH THE OBJECTS HIT THE GROUND

AT THE SAME TIME IS TO DO IT ON THE MOON.

Delaney: ON THE MOON OR
IN A GIANT VACUUM CHAMBER.

THAT'S BECAUSE THERE
WOULDN'T BE ANY AIR RESISTANCE.

OR WE CAN JUST GET TWO REALLY BIG OBJECTS

THAT AREN'T GONNA BE AFFECTED
BY THE AIR RESISTANCE AS MUCH.

ALL RIGHT. LET'S GO TO THE MOON.

OR WE COULD GET TWO
REALLY BIG, HEAVY OBJECTS,

WHICH I MAY HAVE BROUGHT.

OH, FINE.

♪♪

Delaney: SO FAR, NONE OF THE
THINGS WE'VE DROPPED HAVE LANDED

AT THE SAME TIME,

SO EITHER GALILEO WAS WRONG

AND THINGS DON'T FALL AT THE SAME RATE,

OR WE'VE BEEN DROPPING THE WRONG OBJECTS.

SO, WE DECIDED TO KEEP AMPING IT UP,

AND WE WENT AS BIG AS WE COULD.

WE GOT A TRUCK AND A FRIDGE.

AND, NICK, THE FRIDGE IS ABOUT 500 POUNDS?

CORRECT.

AND THE TRUCK IS ABOUT 5,000 POUNDS?

CORRECT. DIFFERENCE OF A FACTOR OF 10.

WE'RE GONNA DROP THEM BOTH FROM THE CRANE.

SO, WHICH DO YOU THINK
IS GOING TO FALL FASTER?

I GOT TO GO WITH THE TRUCK ON
THIS ONE SINCE IT WEIGHS MORE.

I THINK THEY'RE BOTH
GONNA HIT AT THE SAME TIME.

HOW MANY REFRIGERATORS HAVE BEEN DROPPED

ON YOUR SOCCER FIELD, HERE?

AT THIS TIME, NONE.

OH. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

I THINK THE SCIENCE IS
GONNA SPEAK FOR ITSELF.

THAT'S WELL-SAID.

Householder: THESE TWO
OBJECTS ARE BOTH BIG AND HEAVY,

BUT ONE IS ABOUT 10 TIMES
HEAVIER THAN THE OTHER ONE,

SO THERE IS STILL A BIG
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE WEIGHTS.

WE'RE GONNA BE HANGING
THE TRUCK UP BY THE BACK OF IT

SO IT'S FACE-DOWN, JUST RIGHT ON THE HITCH.

BOTH OF THEM ARE GONNA
BE RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER,

AND THEY'RE GONNA DROP IT.

AND, HOPEFULLY, WITH THE
INCREASED MASS OF BOTH OF THESE,

THE AIR RESISTANCE WON'T
PLAY AS BIG OF A FACTOR.

BUT ONE WAY TO FIND OUT.

LET'S DROP THEM.

♪♪

Delaney: OUR BUILDER, ROBERT,
WILL PULL THE RELEASE CORD

WITH HIS PICKUP TRUCK AT A SAFE DISTANCE.

Robert: On your mark.

[ WALKIE-TALKIE BEEPS ]
ALL RIGHT, ROBERT. READY?

HE'S TRYING.

THIS IS SO HEART-WRENCHING.

Delaney: PULLING THE RELEASE
CORD PROVES DIFFICULT

BECAUSE OF THE EXTREME
WEIGHT OF THE TRUCK AND FRIDGE.

IF THAT CRANE FELL
OVER, WOULD IT COME, LIKE,

ALL THE WAY OVER HERE?

Man: I DON'T KNOW.

I think we should just do this in one pull.

[ WALKIE-TALKIE BEEPS ]
ALL RIGHT, BUDDY. LET'S GO.

Delaney: NOW WITH A
BETTER ANGLE ON THE CRANE,

ROBERT TRIES TO PULL THE
RELEASE PIN AGAIN, VERY CAREFULLY.

Householder: THERE HE GOES.

ANYBODY ELSE'S HEART POUNDING?

WHAT HEART?

IT'S NOT GOING.

-[ GASPS ] -OH!

Delaney: WE'VE GOT 5,500 POUNDS
OF METAL DANGLING IN THE AIR.

IF GALILEO IS RIGHT, THE 5,000-POUND TRUCK

AND 500-POUND FRIDGE SHOULD
HIT THE GROUND AT THE SAME TIME.

Robert: I think we should
just do this in one pull.

[ WALKIE-TALKIE BEEPS ]
ALL RIGHT, BUDDY. LET'S GO.

Householder: ANYBODY ELSE'S HEART POUNDING?

WHAT HEART?

-[ GASPS ] -OH!

-OH! -WHOA!

OH, MY GOSH.

Woman: THAT WAS AWESOME.

Householder: I DIDN'T
THINK IT WAS GONNA FALL.

-THAT WAS AWESOME. -THAT WAS PRETTY GOOD.

WE'RE GONNA CALL IT THE SAME TIME.

I'M GONNA CALL IT THE SAME TIME.

OKAY.

Householder: THEIR MASSES ARE SO LARGE,
AND THE DISTANCE THAT THEY COVERED

IS SO SMALL RELATIVE TO
THEIR SIZE THAT AIR RESISTANCE

DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO TAKE AN EFFECT.

SO IF YOU LOOK AT WHEN THE TWO
OBJECTS ARE STRIKING THE GROUND,

THE CENTER OF MASS OF BOTH
OBJECTS IS ROUGHLY ALIGNED.

THAT GOES TO SHOW US THAT
THEY ARE BOTH ACCELERATING

AT THE SAME RATE.

THAT WAS AN AMAZING RESULT.

IT GOES TO SHOW THAT, NO
MATTER HOW BIG THE OBJECT,

IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO EXPERIENCE
THE SAME ACCELERATION

DUE TO GRAVITY.

AERODYNAMICS DEFINITELY PLAYS A PART,

BUT AT THIS SHORT OF A DISTANCE FOR OBJECTS

SO LARGE, THE AIR DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME

TO REALLY MAKE AN APPRECIABLE EFFECT.

SO, PROVED GALILEO RIGHT.

I THOUGHT IT WAS REALLY COOL.

I DIDN'T THINK THEY WOULD
DROP AT THE SAME TIME.

IT GOT MY HEART PUMPING A LITTLE BIT.

WE'VE BEEN DROPPING THINGS ALL DAY LONG.

THE HEAVIER OBJECT HAS BEEN LANDING FIRST.

BUT IN THIS CASE... [ LAUGHS ]

♪♪

Delaney: SO, GALILEO WAS RIGHT.

IN THE ABSENCE OF AIR RESISTANCE,

GRAVITY CAUSES ALL OBJECTS
TO FALL AT THE SAME RATE.

[ GLASS SHATTERS ]