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00:00Four master magicians from around the world are taking science and fusing it with magic
00:09to break everything you thought you knew about the world around you.
00:15They'll perform street magic, hidden camera tricks, and epic illusions.
00:20It all looks like magic, but it's really science.
00:25In this show, Wayne brings motor oil to life, Billy hands out a lesson in martial arts,
00:34Ben tries out a mysterious lie detector, and James defies the laws of gravity.
00:40Slow down!
00:56As magicians, we closely guard our secrets.
01:01But the world of science has an open door.
01:04We'll show you how science can look like magic.
01:20I think you'll enjoy this. Take a look.
01:23First up, we're in New York City.
01:31Wayne's stopping by a car shop in Brooklyn to demonstrate a new product to a bunch of mechanics who are tough customers.
01:38They've just about seen it all, but Wayne thinks they'll be impressed by his miraculous new intelligent motor oil.
01:47I'm really excited about this next trick. It's actually one of my favorites.
01:51Science is extremely visual, and a lot of times when I do this, people think it's real.
01:57I really want you to be able to see exactly what's happening, so can I borrow the water? Can you just actually empty that out for me?
02:06I'm going to put some of the oil inside the bottle.
02:17So we can all see it. And do you have the lid there too? Close that back up.
02:22Now I know this sounds crazy, but I'm actually going to try to bring the oil to life.
02:31But I'll show you what I mean.
02:35Now.
02:37Wow.
02:39Take a look. Take a look. Check it out. Look at the bottom. Nothing on the bottom?
02:42Nothing on the bottom.
02:46What if you had an oil that could lubricate a specific part of the engine only when it was needed?
02:53So let me just show you.
02:56What if you had an oil that could lubricate a specific part of the engine only when it was needed?
03:04So let me try to demonstrate this for you even better so you can see exactly what's happening.
03:09The toolbox over here.
03:13I'm just going to grab a couple of things.
03:15We're going to pretend that these are parts of our engine.
03:19So we've got a bungee cord, we've got a level, and we've got a wrench.
03:25So I'm going to pour some of this out.
03:31Come a little closer.
03:35Come alive.
03:43Now assuming these are parts of our engine, let's say we needed one of them to be lubricated.
03:48Name one of these parts. We've got the wrench, the cord, the level.
03:52The wrench.
03:53I'm going to try to get the oil to move just to the wrench.
03:58Watch.
04:10Lubricate the wrench.
04:11What do you think?
04:15Watch, watch.
04:17Go to sleep.
04:24We're going to get it to move somewhere else.
04:26To the level.
04:27You want it to go to the level. Come alive.
04:31I love that.
04:33Watch.
04:48Very good.
04:54I never see something like this, and I'm really surprised. I like it.
04:59Shall we try the last one, just for fun? We'll get it to move to the cord.
05:14And the best part, go to sleep.
05:18Yeah.
05:20Thank you very much.
05:21It's unbelievable how he can make the fluid move from one side to another side.
05:27Of course the truth is that this oil isn't intelligent.
05:31It's been specially mixed before the trick.
05:35What Wayne's commanding is in fact ferrofluid,
05:38a liquid crammed full of particles that can behave like magnets.
05:43Under normal conditions, ferrofluid is a liquid.
05:46But when brought close to a strong magnet, the particles clump together like a solid.
05:52Wayne's ferrofluid was being secretly controlled by some extra strong magnets hidden beneath the table.
06:00If you actually put this so-called dream product in your car,
06:03the fact it's made of water and metal particles would be hugely destructive,
06:08causing rust, friction, and overheating.
06:12I could see on their faces, several of them thought it was real.
06:14They kind of stepped back as the thing was moving, which, it's just wonderful.
06:17It's awesome. That was good.
06:22Ben is on the streets of Warsaw, Poland, looking for some liars.
06:28Because he's mixed up a chemical cocktail to create a surprisingly accurate lie detector.
06:35I'm here today because I have a brand new lie detector.
06:41Yeah, this is the special liquid.
06:43Can you hold your hand out for me?
06:45Put your other hand on top of it. Perfect.
06:47If he lies, that liquid changes colour.
06:51We're getting excited already. Nothing's happened yet, Olga, but I like your enthusiasm. That's good.
06:56Now, so question number one.
06:59Is your name Davida?
07:01Yes, it is.
07:04Correct.
07:05Okay.
07:06Good, good.
07:07I'm a good boy.
07:08Good.
07:09Question number two.
07:10Are we in Poland?
07:12Yes, we are.
07:16Okay.
07:17Correct. Good.
07:19Is the sun shining?
07:21Yes, a lot, actually.
07:23Correct.
07:25Have you ever gone one week without a shower?
07:29No.
07:31Correct.
07:36My God.
07:37Four.
07:39According to our lie detector, you have gone more than one week without a shower.
07:45Yeah, it's very dark. Probably two, three weeks.
07:47I wondered what the smell was. I thought it was the square.
07:49It's me.
07:50It is. I'll take this off you, stinky.
07:52Okay.
07:53Thank you very much.
07:54Thank you, too.
07:59Have you ever said your wife looks nice, but actually she looks terrible?
08:03No.
08:07Is your wife the most beautiful woman in the world?
08:11Yeah.
08:12Are you sure?
08:13Yeah.
08:16This is quite awkward now.
08:17Have you ever gone one week without a shower?
08:20No.
08:22Whoa.
08:23What?
08:24No way.
08:27It's time for the truth.
08:29Ben's lie detector was in fact an example of a classic chemical clock reaction.
08:36Before he started with his questions, Ben made a mixture of three colorless chemicals,
08:42sodium thiosulfate, starch, and an iodine compound.
08:47A reaction starts when the iodine compound converts to iodide,
08:52but the thiosulfate keeps converting it back again, so the liquid remains clear.
08:59As soon as the thiosulfate is used up, the iodide reacts with the starch,
09:04and the liquid turns blue.
09:06With the right proportions, you can predict the color change to the exact second.
09:12I don't like it.
09:16Banks use pens with iodine ink to detect counterfeit bills,
09:20because they're often printed on paper that contains starch.
09:24Genuine bills are printed on cotton-based paper, which does not contain starch.
09:32In London, Billie's preparing to tackle these martial arts experts.
09:36Her weapons of choice?
09:39Magic and science.
09:43The world is rich with hundreds of types of martial arts.
09:47Like most things, practice them enough, and you become a master.
09:50The same can be said for magic, too.
09:53Now, I've never done any martial arts before,
09:56but I'm going to try and have the last laugh and prove through science that knowledge is power.
10:12Gentlemen, I think I know a few sword moves that you won't be able to match.
10:17The challenge is this.
10:19To see how many grains of rice you can lift up using just your sword.
10:24We'll start with you, Mr. Red Belt,
10:26and see how many grains of rice you can lift up using just the sword.
10:30Nice and easy, take your time.
10:33Look at that.
10:34That, to me, looks like roughly about 20.
10:38Well done, Red Belt, well done.
10:41Mr. Black Belt.
10:42The Red Belt guy got quite a few grains of rice.
10:46Pick up your sword.
10:48Let's see how many you can pick up.
10:51Good technique, excellent.
10:53Look at this.
10:55This is amazing.
10:57He only has five, six, seven, seven little bits of rice.
11:03What a shame you didn't beat the Red Belt guy.
11:08You accept the challenge?
11:09I do.
11:10You may take your sword.
11:12On your own time.
11:14It's just rice.
11:16It's just rice.
11:18A little bit shaky, a little bit shaky.
11:20Look at, oh, oh, that's not bad, that is not bad.
11:23I think that's only about 15.
11:25You call yourself a Black Belt.
11:30You are the sensei.
11:32I am indeed.
11:33Pick up your sword.
11:35I've been doing Aikido for 30 years,
11:37I've been doing Aikido for 30 years,
11:39and I don't like following the rules.
11:42Uh-oh.
11:45Come on, I have a plan.
11:48He's got a plan.
11:54Oh, interesting.
11:59Sensei, you've gone wrong.
12:02It's all right, we won't tell anybody.
12:04Or I could pick it up and pour it on top.
12:08Well, but the instructions were...
12:10Pick up rice with your sword.
12:12...pick up rice using just the sword.
12:14Just the sword.
12:15Let's see how many you got here.
12:17That looks like about 69 grains of rice.
12:21Well done, sensei, very creative.
12:26Now I have a different technique.
12:28What I'm going to do is channel my energy
12:31straight through this jar of rice.
12:34Watch.
12:38Ah.
12:46You see that?
12:48I've picked up every single grain of rice
12:50using just my sword.
12:54Oh, we're all had.
12:55We're all had.
12:57Perhaps a classic example of brain over brawn.
13:01So how did she do it?
13:03Billie's jar contained more rice than the others,
13:06so when she pushed the sword in,
13:08the rice was tightly packed around it.
13:11As Billie lifted the sword,
13:12there were two forces acting on the rice jar,
13:15gravity pulling the rice jar down
13:17and her muscles pulling the sword up.
13:21The friction between the sword and the hard-packed rice
13:23bound them together,
13:25allowing the jar to be lifted
13:27and so defeating the force of gravity.
13:31Next time I need to pick up a jar of rice,
13:33I'll just know how to do it.
13:35And you live and learn every day.
13:38London.
13:39James is preparing for a big trick
13:42where he's risking a bruised ego
13:44and some broken bones.
13:46Here's how it works.
13:48James has had a 50-foot tube
13:50rigged vertically from a scaffold tower,
13:53and at the top of the tube sits a 13-pound cannonball.
13:57When it's released, gravity takes over.
14:06It's pretty full-on.
14:08Well, tonight's going to be a little bit more challenging.
14:10Yeah, well, I think to make the consequences real,
14:12I should put something real on the line.
14:14Like these.
14:15As magicians, these are the most important things to us,
14:17so I think they should suffer if I fail.
14:24I have no words.
14:27In a few hours,
14:29a live audience will arrive to see James
14:31put his hand in the way of the falling cannonball.
14:36What the audience doesn't know
14:38is that James has a plan to slow down the ball.
14:41What he doesn't know is if the science behind it will work.
14:45Slow down!
14:54In London, James' big stunt is almost ready.
14:58The audience has arrived, and there's no going back.
15:07Hello, hello, hello!
15:09So you're probably wondering why I brought you here.
15:13Wayne, can we get five seconds on the clock?
15:16Behind me is a 50-foot tube.
15:19At the top of it stands a 13-pound cannonball.
15:22Load the ball.
15:28Start the clock.
15:322, 1.
15:39Oh!
15:41It's pretty destructive.
15:43So as a magician, what would you say
15:45are the most important parts of my body?
15:48Keep it clean.
15:49My hands, of course.
15:51In just a second, for your entertainment pleasure,
15:54I'm going to put these on the line.
15:56Wayne, come on over.
15:57Wayne's going to choose one of you to help us out.
16:00What's your name?
16:01Luke.
16:02Luke, would you be willing to help out?
16:04Yeah, sure.
16:05Let's give Luke a round of applause.
16:07Luke, come on up.
16:08Come on up this way.
16:09Nice to meet you.
16:10That's your step.
16:11Absolutely.
16:12You can see we have a table with some glass on it.
16:15Go ahead and tap on that.
16:16This is important.
16:17Attached, bolted to the table is a shackle.
16:20I want you to feel this.
16:22Go ahead and touch that.
16:23That's not paper.
16:24It's not cardboard.
16:25It's metal.
16:26If this were to be closed and locked,
16:28do you think you could pull your hand free?
16:30You can't, right?
16:31No.
16:32Okay.
16:33That's pretty tight.
16:34Very good.
16:35In a moment, we're going to ask you
16:36to actually lock James into place.
16:39And I'd like you to take a look at the lock,
16:42give it a tug.
16:43That is nice and locked, yes?
16:44Yep.
16:45And this key is the only key that opens the lock.
16:51Now, you'll notice in the ball,
16:54there are maybe another 100 keys.
16:56Each one is cut differently.
16:57This is, in fact, the only key that will open this lock.
17:02This is important.
17:04I want you to hold this.
17:05Hold it right here.
17:07Don't lose it.
17:09Once the automatic timer starts, it cannot stop.
17:12Whether I'm free or not, the ball will drop.
17:14I'd like you, Luke, to go ahead and close that
17:17carefully right over there.
17:21Lock it.
17:22Make sure that it is secure.
17:24Give it a twist, it is.
17:25You're all good?
17:26Yep.
17:27Okay.
17:28Now, I'm going to ask you to give me two seconds
17:30to memorize the shape of the serrations on that key
17:33before placing it in the ball of 100 other keys.
17:37All right.
17:38Please don't go quick.
17:40Otherwise, it's going to end badly, all right?
17:42Okay.
17:44Here we go.
17:45Ready, set, go.
17:47One Mississippi, two Mississippi.
17:49Got it.
17:51And take your finger, swirl it around.
17:54Take a look.
17:55That's lost, yeah?
17:56Yeah.
17:57Yeah.
17:58In a moment, Luke, things are about to get very dangerous
18:00right here, so thank you so much for your help.
18:02I'm going to ask you to step back down.
18:04In fact, ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to ask you all
18:06to step back to where we were just a few minutes ago.
18:13Load the ball.
18:21James.
18:24You ready?
18:25Yeah.
18:27Good luck, buddy.
18:29Can we get one minute on the clock?
18:31James now has 60 seconds to find the right key
18:34and free his hand.
18:40Go.
18:41Start the clock.
18:50Don't throw away the wrong key.
18:52Thanks, buddy.
18:5440 seconds.
18:58Slow down.
19:01You have time.
19:02There's plenty more keys, too.
19:05You're at 30 seconds, James.
19:0630 already?
19:07Yeah, focus on the pattern.
19:08Don't throw away the wrong key.
19:11James, you're at 50 seconds.
19:12You've got to get that key.
19:13I'm going for this one.
19:18It's the wrong one.
19:19Stop it, stop it, stop it.
19:20I can't stop it, James.
19:21I can't stop it.
19:26Slow down.
19:40What the live audience didn't know
19:42was that James had no real chance
19:44of finding the right key by memory.
19:47Instead, he had a hidden lockpick
19:49ready to jimmy open the padlock.
19:52Of course, the ball really was falling,
19:55but he had a cool bit of science up his sleeve
19:58to buy him just enough time to escape
20:00before it crushed his hand.
20:02When it was like 10 seconds,
20:04I was like, I'm going to see some guy lose his hand.
20:08A cannonball came down,
20:09and I suddenly realised, what's happening?
20:11I wasn't expecting the ball
20:12to suddenly defy the laws of physics.
20:14It was absolutely fantastic.
20:15It finally did come down.
20:16It just managed to get it out in time.
20:22James used a physics phenomenon called Lenz's Law.
20:26The first cannonball the audience saw drop
20:28was made out of steel.
20:30It fell through the tube in 1.6 seconds.
20:34But a different ball was used in the actual trick,
20:38and it had a core of extra-strong magnets inside.
20:42When it first dropped,
20:43it behaved just like the steel ball.
20:45Because the top of the tube
20:47was made out of standard PVC piping,
20:50the second part of the tube was made out of aluminium.
20:54So when the magnetic ball fell into this part of the tube,
20:58the magnets induced electric currents in the metal,
21:01and these are called eddy currents.
21:05These resulted in an upward force on the ball
21:08which counteracts gravity
21:10and slowed it down by four seconds.
21:15You have to be certainly brave to do this,
21:18even when you know the secret.
21:19If you look straight up that pole,
21:20if you look straight up at the height,
21:22and you can see that ball sitting in there
21:24ready to come down, it's terrifying.
21:28It was unbelievable.
21:29It was like, really, I had goosebumps.
21:33When you have something that's this visual,
21:35it can kind of freak people out.
21:37There's clearly something going on here
21:39where she's going to beat us,
21:40but I just couldn't figure out how that was going to happen.
21:43I didn't expect it to work.
21:45He got me.
21:48I could have never, never done that.
21:51He's a brave man.