Mythbusters – the Discovery Channel reality show – has gained quite a reputation for dramatically shattering preconceived notions that many viewers have believed for years.
So it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that Jamie Hyneman’s prowess recently caught the attention of the U.S. military.
Yes, the Department of Defense has asked Hyneman to help it develop a new generation of lighter, stronger armor for military vehicles.
Of course, Hyneman is already involved with several other projects outside his regular ol’ “day job” at Mythbusters – including developing special effects for the film industry.
Still, Hyneman is making time to work with the Office of Naval Research in its quest to improve vehicle armor and better protect U.S. troops deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Basically, Hyneman will attempt to design armour that is light enough not to add a significant load to military vehicles, but is resilient enough to endure blast and shrapnel damage from IEDs (improvised explosive devices) employed by insurgents.
Anyone that has watched Mythbusters for a while will attest to Hyneman being no stranger to experimenting with explosives in different scenarios.
Thus, while this military assignment does present a challenge even for someone of his experience, it is clear he is already somewhat well versed on the subject.
Obviously, Hyneman’s penchant for testing boundaries and discarding preconceived notions can only work in his favour during this new adventure.
[Via Discovery News & CNET]
