Episode 4 Richard Hammond's Blast Lab

I must remember to put a hole up there. Helps the descend thing.

Hello. I'm Richard Hammond. This is my Blast Lab.

Now, it is top secret down here.

-Don't tell your mum and dad.

-WHISPERS:

-They're spies.

Let's look at what's coming up.

You can't have a secret underground lab if it isn't protected,

which is why I have a team of SAS guards to look after Blast Lab.

Unfortunately, one of them got his head stuck in some railings

and the others are waiting until the fire brigade turn up.

But don't worry. In the meantime, her chops are deadly.

More formidable than her cooking ability is her kung fu skill.

She is, of course, my Ninja Nan!

CHEERS AND APPLAUSE

Ninja Nan, thanks for standing in.

She looks fragile but she is a trained Ninja.

See?

Ninja Nan, if you'd take your place in security. Ninja Nan!

Take your place in security please.

How do you DO that?

OK. Away she goes.

Look at her move! The grace, the stealth, the power.

In her day, she was quite a looker. Used to stop traffic.

With her finger, like that.

Nearly there. Still travelling.

Are you there, Ninja Nan? There she is in her security post.

I feel safer with her Ninja shopping trolley.

A cup of tea! She may as well be comfortable while she's guarding us.

Oh, cups. Very nice.

Best china. A cake.

Lovely. OK, Ninja Nan.

That'll help in looking after us in Blast Lab.

Some cakes. We'll leave Ninja Nan to settle into her security post.

Let's meet the people trying to get into my lab today.

It's all well and good getting excited. They could be anybody.

I have to carry out some checks.

For security reasons, identify yourselves by name.

-SHOUT Yasmine!

-Megan!

-Rosie!

Yasmine, Megan and Rosie. That checks out. Now, hidden talent.

It says here that the real Rosie from the real yellow team

can tuck her ear inside itself.

Can you do that?

Oh, wow! You are cleared through security. Come into the blast lab.

CHEERING

Sorry about the security checks. You can't let just anybody in.

-Where are you all from?

-SHOUT: Kent! We are the Big Brains.

Good name, but useless. You're the yellow team. That's that.

Now, the people who claim to be your opposition.

They SAY they're the red team.

You could just be three boys trying to get into my Blast Lab.

-Identify yourselves by name, please.

-I'm Scott.

-I'm Jack.

-I'm Morgan.

Scott, Jack and Morgan. Yeah, Morgan. I've got your name.

Hidden talent. You can turn your foot to face the other way?

Whoa! That is facing the wrong...

Can you turn it back again?

Fair enough. You are the red team. You are cleared through security.

Where have you all come from?

ALL: Staffordshire and we're The Rockers!

Good name, but useless cos your name is the red team.

OK, red and yellow team.

Get settled in for round one. That's what we're doing next.

It's time to meet a friend of mine. He's got a top speed of 75mph.

That's "Maths Problems per Hour"! Oliver!

Oliver is fitted with a state-of-the-art Fact Nav system.

I came up with the idea myself, in my sleep!

I don't think I'd woken up properly, so it doesn't work very well.

A lot of the facts aren't correct.

Our teams tell me which are true and which are false.

Oliver will reveal the answer. If it's true, he'll do this.

CAR HORN

-And if it's false he'll do this.

-FOG HORN

OK, teams, your science facts. Tell me if it's true or false.

Everybody comfortable and relaxed? Mm... Maybe not, Megan!

Here comes your science fact. Reds first. Is this true or false?

Earth orbits the Sun at about 6,700 miles an hour,

which, obviously, you'll be able to tell me, is 10,782.6 kilometres an hour.

Earth orbits the Sun at 6,700 miles an hour.

Think before you say true or false. Work it out between you.

Audience, what do we think?

-EVERYONE: True!

-I think that's unanimous.

Don't just go with what they think.

-What do you think?

-We think true.

-Everybody agrees?

-Yes.

-OK.

Oliver, is it true or false?

-FOG HORN

-Ah. It's false. No points for you.

Actually, it's 67,000 miles an hour, which is four thousand...

I can't work it out but it's very, very fast indeed.

The Earth also spins at 1,000 miles an hour, 1,600 kilometres an hour.

Right, yellows. Here is your science fact.

Tell me if this is true or false.

A single dairy cow belches and passes wind

amounting to 114 kilos of methane a year.

Is that true or false?

Taking that VERY seriously - a good sign.

Audience, is that true or false?

-TOGETHER:

-True!

-False!

-I think it's true.

-What are you going for?

-True.

-You all agreed?

-Yeah.

-Oliver?

CAR HORN

True! A point for the yellows! Well done.

The equivalent, from a single cow, to 2,600 kilos of carbon dioxide,

almost 50% of an average 4x4's emissions in a year!

This time, I don't want true or false.

I want you to write me an answer on the board.

I'll give the point to the team that gets nearest to the answer.

Here is the question.

How many colours is the Eiffel Tower painted?

Audience, how many colours is the Eiffel Tower painted? Any ideas?

I can talk to you with my invention. A traffic cone.

The microphone is hidden. It's a micro-cone.

Any theories over here, audience? What do we reckon?

-Two or three?

-Two OR three? We like precision in Blast Lab!

-What do you think?

-Five.

-Six.

-You think it's painted in six different colours?

There are no points for the audience but there are for the teams.

Turn your boards round. Let's look at what you've got.

Two for the reds. None for the yellows.

-Does that mean it's invisible?

-THEY LAUGH

Because they want to make it appear one colour,

but with all the different backgrounds,

to make it look one colour, it is painted in three colours.

-The reds get the point!

-APPLAUSE

So the scores are 1-1.

That's all to come.

Now, Mini Science, where we try experiments with everyday objects.

I wanted the best person to help,

so I transported my science teacher through time.

Something went wrong and she came back as a ten-year-old - Mini Miss!

-Good afternoon, Richard.

-Afternoon, Miss. Miss?

I'm really sorry about the time travel going wrong.

-Good boy for apologising, Richard.

-Thank you, Miss.

-On the bright side, you can ride on buses for free.

-Wrong, Richard.

As a 65-year-old, I had a bus pass. Stop trying to be a smarty pants.

Sorry. What experiment are we doing?

We're looking at transfer of energy in a game called magnetic pinball.

The teams are going to use magnets to launch these ball bearings

onto a map that has marked distances on it.

The teams have to launch these balls using these magnets and this ramp.

A combination of ball bearings stuck to the magnet will determine

how far their ball travels.

Each team gets three attempts.

The winning team is the one that gets their ball to travel furthest.

This is the machine. It's very clever.

There's this channel, two magnets and where the ball bearings sit.

You fire the ball bearing in.

As it goes up, this magnet pulls it towards it.

That accelerates it.

When it hits the magnet the energy is transferred, the energy transfer.

That's correct, Richard.

It's transferred through until this one is free.

It moves further up the ramp.

Another magnet accelerates it even more, it hits that magnet,

then all the energy transfers through to the one on the end,

which is free to fly, and it does.

It's not luck about the combinations of ball bearings.

There are scientific reasons

why some numbers work better than others.

That's up to you to experiment and try and win.

We have to decide which team goes first so we're going to draw pens.

Reds, pick a pen.

Yellows, pick a pen.

Pick a pen. Pick a pen. The options are running out.

That's the short one! Yellow team, do you want to go first or second?

-Can we go first, please?

-OK.

There is a lot of planning to decide which combination of ball bearings

to get your ball bearing to fire the furthest.

Have a bit of a think. You've got time.

Reds, going second. You, too, have a think.

There are some very good reasons why this will work.

If there are too many ball bearings the energy will be wasted.

When you fire the ball bearing in you've loaded it up with energy.

But when it hits the magnet, that click takes energy.

If we click from one to the next, that's more energy being wasted.

So when it gets to the end, there's less than at the beginning.

If you have too many, it's wasteful.

Too few, the ball bearing at the top is too close to the magnet.

So when it leaves, it's still being pulled back by the magnet.

It's up to them to work it out.

-Yellows, have you decided?

-Yeah.

I'll do five and two.

OK. Load it up.

So that's two in the top magnet, five in the bottom one.

-Are we ready to do this?

-Yeah.

-OK.

In your own time, yellows, fire.

It's rolling to a stop. There we go.

Lab rats, mark the final point.

What are we going to do?

We're going with four and five.

You saw five and two. Why are you changing it?

Because... I don't know, really.

Sometimes you've got to experiment and try different things.

So, it's four and five.

Commence firing in your own time.

Ooh! Yes!

Just past.

Yellows, what are you going for?

-Six at the top and four at the bottom.

-Explain why.

Because on the last one, they got better from doing more at the top.

-And decreasing the number on the bottom.

-Yeah.

-See what happens.

Ooh! It looked like a good start.

Ooh! It drew to a halt. Lab rat, mark that, please.

-Your combination is three in each?

-Yeah.

Look at that! Reds go into the lead.

Well done.

-Five and five.

-We didn't discuss that.

Maybe you should discuss it cos Megan seems to disagree.

You have some time. Not every scientific discussion is gentle.

Sometimes, it's intense.

Sometimes, it's just a fight.

Have we agreed or do I need a lab rat as a ref?

-We're doing...

-Five at the top and five at the bottom.

OK. Let's see what happens.

Good luck, yellows.

It's a strong start. Oh!

It's drawn to a close. Reds, there's no point having another go.

The point goes to the red team.

The scores now then are...

Once you put energy into something, like this system here,

it has to go somewhere, it can't vanish.

The posh term is "conservation of energy within a system". Try that!

Let's use the idea of conservation of energy

but for a much bigger experiment.

'Lab rats are notoriously lazy.

'An experiment about conservation of energy should be up their street.

'Apparently, if we let this pig go next to our lab rat's face,

'it shouldn't come back and hit him.

'Science says this is because, as the pig is lifted,

'it's given energy.

'As it swings, some of its energy is transferred into heat and sound.

'When it swings back, it will have less energy and won't swing as high,

'saving our lab rat's face - at least, that's what science says.'

'So far, so good, the pig never reaching the starting point.

'What happens if we increase the weight?

'An anvil. Perfect. Take it to the swing and see how we get on.

'Come on! Put your backs into it.

'Pathetic. OK. Forget the anvil. Let's use something else.

'What we need are two cranes and one large family car.

'So, no more messing around. This time, it's serious.

'Lab rat, get to your position.

'And don't move a muscle.

'Three, two, one... Release.'

Hold it there! There's another point available.

Score is 2-1 to the reds. You'll start in the Messy Messy Mess Test.

Yellows, you equalise if you win the point so you start at the same time.

A point to the team who accurately tells me what's going to happen.

What will happen? Remember, this is a lot heavier.

Audience, do we reckon it will hit the lab rat...? Some do. Some don't.

-Come to a conclusion?

-We don't think it will hit the lab rat in the face.

-Sounds like there's a "but" coming.

-There's not.

-You don't think the lab rat will get hit. Reds?

-We don't think so either.

So it doesn't change anything. Reds will still be in the lead. Let's find out.

'It's come to this.

'One large family car.

'Two giant cranes.

'And one big girl's blouse.

'The car weighs more than 1,200kg and is covered with toughened sheet metal.

'The lab rat comes in at 80kg and is covered with loose sagging skin.

'Who will come out on top?

'Three, two, one... Release.

'Lucky we're not in a hurry.

'It'll get there soon, lab rat. Be careful.

'See? Nothing to worry about!'

That means a point to both teams.

That means the score's now...

It's because the only energy it had was the energy it took

to lift it up to that point.

It could go no higher than the point from which it was released.

Teams, I need you to get ready for the Messy Messy Mess Test.

You go and get ready.

It's interesting pushing the boundaries of science.

I'm not going to hurt a lab rat when he's been doing an experiment,

which should be finished now.

CRASH

That doesn't sound good at all.

That lab rat dropped Ninja Nan's tea set. She's not gonna like that.

He hasn't had the sense to run away. I can't look.

THWACK! THWACK! Y-yah!

That's all bad. Time for us to move on to the Messy Messy Mess Test. Ah.

Which is... the Bridge of Destiny.

SPOOKILY ECHOES The Bridge of Destiny.

Your prizes - a mineral dig, an MP3 player and a bionic helicopter -

need to be transported across this tank.

If they touch the toxic gunge, they'll be useless cos they'll melt.

I was working out how many monkeys it would take

to write a My Little Fairy book when a monkey escaped

and smashed up the bridges over the tank.

The pieces fell into the goo you're standing in.

See if you can find them in time to get your truck across.

I think the monkey fell in, too, so try not to find that. It bites.

Right, you forage about in the toxic gunge. Find all the pieces.

Assemble your bridge of destiny...

SQUEAKY VOICE The Bridge of Destiny.

..before your prizes are lost in the chasm below your bridge of destiny.

DEEP DRAMATIC VOICE: The Bridge of Destiny. Take it to the bridge.

As soon as you finish, release the car

to pull your trailer of prizes across.

Red team, you got most points. They earned you a five-second advantage.

When you hear the siren, you start.

Yellows, begin when you hear the second siren.

This is a straight race and that race starts...

-SIREN

-Now.

The reds make the most of their five-second head start.

Confusion reigns. They don't know where to begin.

-SIREN

-There's the second siren.

The reds have blown their advantage.

The pressure seems to be getting to the yellows.

Tempers are frayed and there's a lot of screaming,

but very little teamwork right now.

CHEERING AND SHOUTING

Both teams yet to put a single piece of the bridge together.

It is absolute mayhem out there.

And a quick check on the bridges reveals they're neck-and-neck,

with no pieces in place!

Do they even know the rules of the game?

ALL SHOUT AT EACH OTHER

Amazing! Are my eyes deceiving me? No.

The reds have a piece in place.

I repeat. The reds have a piece in place. So do the yellows.

It's all kicking off.

This game, of course, scientifically tested in the Blast Lab

to be guaranteed of being able to engender an argument

in the most harmonious of teams.

We had this game played by a load of monks from a distant mountain.

Within seconds, a massive fight.

What's this? The reds fit a second section. And the yellows?

The one thing the yellows seem to be VERY good at

is arguing.

The reds trying brawn over brain. Very scientific(!)

The yellows seem to be losing more than just their patience.

The reds are a building machine.

The reds now just putting the final touches to their bridge.

What's this? The yellows pull their lever to start the truck.

They haven't finished their bridge yet.

The yellows sort of place the last section. Will it hold?

Yes. And the reds blocked their own truck.

The reds have self-destructed in front of my very eyes.

We've got to make a call. There was some improvising going on.

The fact is, the race is to get the pods across the tank.

And the first team to do that, by constructing a unique bridge,

was the yellow team!

Huge drama and not just a little controversy.

The reds looked to have had the race in the bag.

Risk taking from the yellows and premature celebrating from the reds

meant the yellows stealing victory from the jaws of defeat.

TEAMS ARGUE

One important thing. I'm in charge. You're in a tank of gunge.

They got their truck across. That's what you've got to do and they did it. Sorry, reds.

Yellows, here's what you've won.

Ready, Nan?

A plug-and play electronics set,

a Bop It game,

a bionic 'copter,

Mineral Dig,

20 Questions game and an MP3 player.

Reds, you would have won exactly the same.

But here's the great bit.

You're going to blow them up in Bidet Goes Bang!

Here we are. Yellows behind a huge mountain of prizes to take home.

Reds behind a huge plunger to blow theirs up. Here's how we got here.

What happened was the yellow team, for some reason, were madly brave

in pulling the handle before the red team,

and at the last minute managed to get the last piece in sideways!

The rules are you've got to get your car across the tank, and you did!

Reds, you were second pulling it - this is too painful to talk about -

and you were so busy celebrating that you got in the way of the car across the bridge!

Let's not even go there because, well, we're in front of the plunger.

Not many people know this, "bidet" is French for "blow-up day".

Probably.

That's what we're going to do now. Prizes are loaded in.

-Who's going to do the deed, reds?

-ALL: All of us.

-All together?

-Yeah.

-That's probably best after the last experience!

Step forwards and lift the plunger. Don't plunge straight away.

We're going to give you a countdown. Lift it up. OK.

Here we go. Five, four...

three, two, one!

Our time is up. We've been learning about conservation of energy.

I'm going to conserve energy by getting a lab rat to bring me my tea. See you next time.

'Blast Lab was recorded before a studio audience. No lab rat was harmed during filming.

'Well, that's not entirely true but best not to say anything.'

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd