None of the Above|街头科学实验室

None of the Above

by Marcus Maurice

If you pour alcohol all over a US$20 bill, what will happen when it is lit on fire?

　　An excitable man on the street wants to get a crowd's opinion on which of three items, an inner tube from a tire, a basketball, or a plastic two-liter bottle, will pop last when overinflated with compressed air. One man in the crowd picks the inner tube because he thinks it will take a lot of air to make it explode. Two others pick the basketball, while no one picks the bottle because it has seams and looks like it will break easily. The tank's valve is opened, releasing air at 50 pounds per square inch (PSI), and all the items are fine at first. As the pressure grows to 75 PSI, the inner tube pops, which surprises and scares many in the crowd. The basketball is the next casualty when it bursts at 110 PSI. The only object left is the two-liter bottle, which no one guessed would last the longest.

　　Tim Shaw is the host of National Geographic Channel's new series, None of the Above, and he takes delight in doing spectacular experiments on the streets of America. His irreverent brand of science and engineering amazes and dumbfounds people in equal measure. Like David Blaine doing street magic, Shaw thrives off blowing people's minds by showing passersby that science is far more impressive than any illusion. Also in None of the Above, a helicopter lands on a layer of eggs without cracking a single shell, custard protects a watch from being smashed by a hammer, and a vacuum cleaner holds a car in the air. Shaw not only challenges audiences to guess the outcomes, but he also breaks down the always-surprising results so that people can understand them.

 

街头科学实验室

如果你将酒倒在一张美金二十元的钞票上，当它被点燃时会发生什么事呢？

　　一名很激动的男子在街上想要取得众人的意见，看看汽车内胎、篮球，或是两公升的塑胶瓶这三项物品，以压缩空气充气之后，何者会最后爆开。在人群中的一名男子选择了内胎，因为他认为内胎需要大量的空气才会爆炸。另外有两个人选择了篮球，而没有人选择塑胶瓶，因为它有接缝，而且看起来很容易就会破掉。这名男子打开了空气罐的阀门，释放出每平方英寸压力为五十磅的空气，这三样东西一开始都还好。当压力升高到每平方英寸七十五磅时，内胎爆开了，这让群众中很多人都很惊讶和害怕。篮球是下一个牺牲品，它在压力达到每平方英寸一百一十磅的时候爆开了。唯一剩下的物品是没有人猜中，但却能撑得最久的两公升塑胶瓶。

　　提姆‧肖是国家地理频道新系列节目《街头科学实验室》的主持人，而且他对于在美国大街小巷中进行一些惊人的实验乐此不疲。他用来诠释科学和工程的奇异手法让众人大为吃惊却又目瞪口呆。就像大卫‧布莱恩表演街头魔术一样，肖向路人展示科学远比任何幻觉更令人印象深刻，而他因成功掳获人心而感到兴奋。《街头科学实验室》节目还有下列内容：一架直升机降落在一层鸡蛋上面，而蛋壳却完全没有裂开；卡士达酱可以保护手表不会被锤子敲碎；还有吸尘器可以把一辆汽车吸在半空中。肖不仅挑战观众来猜测结果，他也破解了那些一直以来令人惊讶的结果，好让人们能够理解。