I look forward to watching that version. Those two characters make a real interesting duo. There was a National Geographic episode that did the same, but of course being NatGeo it wasn't near the "episode" that these two maniacs will make it.
Jeeze, I don't recall. Been like two or three years ago. I only remember them telling how G. Pyke wasn't really involved with the development of the substance, but it was named in his honor since he was the guy behind the original idea. They made it with a mix of both sawdust and wood chips, and then hit it with sledge hammers, shot bullets at it, and dropped it off of two or three story buildings. Marveling each time at how little damage the "block" they had built displayed. Like I said it was a few years ago, and started with a dive on that lake in Canada where the prototype "scale model" had been built.
There was something on Brainiac (A show in the UK) about Pykrete, and they tested it alongside Ice and Concrete. They shot it, hit it with a hammer and shot it with a flamethrower. I don't need to tell you the results.
Okay, they proved that pykrete is "bullet resistant" to much greater degree than ordinary ice. (one foot square block took a rifle bullet with about 1 inch penetration) They also built a pykrete boat, but used frozen newspapers to produce a stronger hull. It developed leaks rather quickly, but the hull thickness was only a few inches, so thawing would account for that. You can watch the episode atMythbusters : Episode Guide : Discovery Channel
For those not familiar with this use of pykrete follow these links: Habbakuk: The Iceberg Aircraft Carrier | Online Information Bank | Research Collections | Royal Naval Museum at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard Pykrete - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
They said pykrete had "three cardinal virtues", but I only caught two. Anybody else seen the episode?
Yeah, I watched it and the ones I figured they were talking about as three were; bullet proof (actually resistant), melts slower, and higher tensile strength. That was the one where they balanced the lead weight on both ice and pykrete, and then on the "special newspaper version as well. So I guess that is three, tensile strength, bullet resistance, melting resistance.
Yeah, I watched it and the ones I figured they were talking about as three were; bullet proof (actually resistant), melts slower, and higher tensile strength. That was the one where they balanced the lead weight on both ice and pykrete, and then on the "special newspaper version as well. So I guess that is three, tensile strength, bullet resistance, melting resistance.
I was only half watching, don't know how I missed "melts slower". Interesting that the "ice schooners" used to insulate their cargo with sawdust before sailing for the warmer climates.
