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Decoding the MythBusters
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MythBusters Glossary

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Acidity
The chemical property of having a pH value below 7. Coffee, soda and lemon juice are all examples of acidic beverages.

Actual mechanical advantage
The force a simple machine, such as a lever or pulley, exerts during use. In other words, the amount of work a machine performs.

Adhesion
An attractive force that binds two unlike surfaces together. Duct tape, for instance, is known to have adhesive strength of nearly mythical proportions. Jamie and Adam put duct tape through a sticky series of adhesion tests in season six, including whether it can support a car and prevent a boat from sinking.

Aerodynamics and air friction
The study of how moving objects interact with the air around them. Air friction -- a.k.a. drag -- refers to the force opposing an object's motion through the air. In season six, Jamie and Adam figure out whether a dirty car encounters less air friction while zipping down the road, thus improving its aerodynamics.

Air pressure
The force exerted on a surface by the air around it. Literally, this is the weight of air pressing down on an object. When you pump up a tire, for example, the air pressure inside of it presses against the rubber and makes it taut.

Alcohol properties
The physical and chemical characteristics of alcohol as a colorless liquid at room temperature. Alcohol is also flammable, easily dissolved in water and has a lower boiling point than water. In season six, episode 129, Tory and Grant get sloshed for science to see whether the ethyl alcohol in the form of beer and liquor packs the same hangover punch.

Alginate
A type of viscous gum commonly used in dental molds. The MythBusters also use alginate to create their custom molds. For instance, Kari made "brains" out of 78 percent water and 22 percent alginate for the "Head Smash" experiment in season six's episode 129. That squishy consistency matches the actual water-to-brain-matter ratio.

Alkali
A water-soluble base that reacts with water to form hydroxide ions. Alkalines increase the pH level of a solution, neutralizing acidity and making it more basic.

Alloy
A combination of two or more metals. Steel, for example, is an alloy of carbon and iron.

Alameda Naval Base
One of the sites where the MythBusters do experiments that aren't possible in M5 Studio

Angular momentum and speed
The momentum of an object spinning around a rotational axis. When Tori and Grant get sloshed for science in season six, they have to endure the angular momentum of Kari's dreadful motion sickness chair. That spinning force against their bodies didn't exactly help their hangovers!

Archimedes Principle
The buoyant force that keeps objects afloat.

Axis
The point around which something rotates.