Monday, March 3, 2008

Mythbusters Set To Swim With Sharks

Each episode of the Discovery Channel show MythBusters takes on multiple myths and uses modern-day science to show what's real and what's fiction. One myth the MythBusters will investigate during the Shark Week episode they will shoot in the Bahamas next week will be the idea that magnets can control sharks' movements.

This drawing by MythBusters co-host Jamie Hyneman shows how he intends to examine the concept. Basically, he has designed a system where he will attach two electromagnets to a shark's nose and rig the system so that he can send tiny little electric pulses to the magnets to activate them. The idea is that if the magnet on the shark's left side is activated, it will turn right, and vice-versa. The shark will not be harmed during the experiment, which will be conducted under the supervision of a marine biologist.

Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET