MythBusters Episode 47: Helium Football
Air Date: February 1, 2006
A regulation NFL football will fly farther when filled with helium as opposed to compressed air at regulation pressure (13 psi).
busted
Under the same amount of impulse force under the same atmospheric conditions, balls filled with helium showed no significant difference from balls filled with compressed air. It was also shown that, under the same impulse, both types of balls had the same initial velocity; since the helium-filled balls have less mass than the air-filled ones, the helium-filled balls have less inertia in flight: in fact, they may perform worse than air-filled balls over larger distances.
It is possible for a human to catch a fired bullet in one piece with their teeth.
busted
A pig’s teeth are significantly stronger than a human’s, and yet were shattered by an impulse test when a bullet, held by a pig head’s teeth under the same pressure as an average human’s maximum bite strength, was suddenly forced forward by a force equivalent to a speeding bullet. Furthermore, the reaction time needed to perfectly capture a bullet in one’s teeth is too short and has too tight a tolerance for any human (and almost any machine for that matter) to succeed. Finally, when the bullet was captured perfectly, the velocity that it traveled at completely destroyed even a full metal jacket bullet: it is impossible to catch a bullet in the same state as it exited a gun via solid mechanical means.
Newer: Episode 48: Franklin’s Kite
I once caught a bullet in my teeth. I was being abducted by aliens, and they were probing me, and then they fired this bullet past my teeth, and I must have been using my universal senses, but it was stopped. My alien friends dont call much anymore. . . Actually, no one calls me anymore. Cursed damn aliens!!!
June 26, 2007 at 10:11 AMRay, they can call you Ray. Damn aliens have quit visiting me since I had my hysterectomy. Guess I am no good to them anymore. Doc said they “growth” was unidetified by lab, yeah right. They got my number and I hope they never call me…I just do not want to know
July 28, 2007 at 12:09 AMAbout the helium football. I think the question is wrongly put. A baloon or massive iron ball will both go just afew meters. The ideal weight shuld therefor lie somewhere in between and there is nothing that says that the football will go longer if it becomes lighter. Perhaps it shuld be heavier.
October 17, 2007 at 5:42 AM(pardon my french and thankyou for an interesting TV-program)
yo this foot ball thing is cool yo were do u watch it again cuz i cant find a way 2 see it over cuz im doing somthing close 2 this 4 my project and i need 2 see if its like the same im doing hydrogen vs air footballs can u do one like this 4 one of ur shows well bye
October 30, 2007 at 8:45 PMi need to know about the footballs normal air pressure regulations and if it will be thrown and kicked farther by if its less or more air pressure from comfort and air drag
November 14, 2007 at 1:40 PMdude i can catch a bullet with my teeth that is a lie!!
December 6, 2007 at 12:51 PMI think you are all dumb!
December 14, 2007 at 4:11 PMyour all dumb!!
December 14, 2007 at 4:11 PMOMG!!! ADAM AND JAMIE ARE MY HEROES!!! WHEN YOU COME TO SOUTH AFRICA AGAIN PLEASE LET ME KNOW I WANT TO TAKE A PICTURE WITH MY 2 HEROES PLEASE!!!
December 19, 2007 at 7:27 PMThe Myth with the Helium/Air footballs, can go both ways. You people tried a Regulation NFL football, of high quality. Using a different type of football changes the outcome. For a project I made, I tried this, and actually Helium went further, because of the lightness on the football. Three test’s with each ball proved it.
I’m still agreeing with your project with NFL regulation ball.
December 26, 2007 at 6:07 PMI was intrigued by your helium football tests but the point was “hang time” how long it stayed in the air. Shouldn’t you have done a test to see if once the top of arch or peak height had been reached the drop to earth was the longer with the helium ball then the one with regular air? That is: is the fall rate the same
December 31, 2007 at 1:07 PMHy i’ve got a myth for you!!!!Can you jump a footballfild on a motercycle?
December 31, 2007 at 1:47 PMSuggested Myths to bust/prove:
April 26, 2009 at 2:06 AM1. If a man says something in a forest and there’s no woman there to hear him, is he still wrong?
2. In any family photo of at least 6 people, there’s always SOMEBODY pulling a stupid face!
3. Any given blog will attract 8/10 stupid comments!
Can you guys do a exeriment thing on how to see if lie detectors really work if you havnt already done that
June 30, 2009 at 2:24 AMCan you fill the football with hydrogen or pure oxygen? If that doesn’t work, try heavier gases.
July 1, 2009 at 1:20 PMcould you please look at this you tube video
August 20, 2009 at 6:37 AMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb2BZwO0n70
I saw on an episode of The Footy Show (Australian Rugby League show) where they got one Hazem El Mazri to kick an air filled NRL ball and a helium filled ball. The helium ball went about 100 metres/330 feet and the air ball was only half as far. I still don’t know whether it’s real or not haha.
September 2, 2009 at 5:14 AMIt’s on youtube if anyone’s interested.
Omg! aliens!!! really??? do you guys have no life? and thanks myth busters my teacher got inspriation from your show now we have to do a stupid project over christmas break!!!!! (jk i love your show)
December 15, 2009 at 5:16 PMIn the helium football episode as you said that if u put a cylinder over the eiffel tower, the air inside is acually heavier than the tower itself. How is that possible??
January 20, 2010 at 9:13 PMdo you people know if a helium or air football can be thrown farther because i’m doing a science fair project?
February 5, 2010 at 3:24 PMWill a basketball filled with helium bounce higher than a basketball filled with air??
February 15, 2010 at 12:53 PMu guys are retarded u guys hav no life get a girlfreind or sumthin u guys are stupid
February 19, 2010 at 1:19 PM