Nuked Fridges

kongisking

Active member
So, the big mother-of-all-questions: CAN IT BE DONE?

I know that it is practically impossible, but still...can't we have fun and just imagine, for a brief moment, how this could possibly work? I'm making this thread purely because MythBusters have not yet done a KOTCS special, which would absolutely rock (Adam would love to try out the nuked fridge bit! He's got the gear, after all!). So I think it would be fun if us fans did some digging into the logic behind this scene. Experiment, people!

CAN YOU NUKE THE FRIDGE?!?
 

The Drifter

New member
Hop inside an old fridge with 21 kilotons on TNT placed around it and let someone detonate it.
You can be the first to test this experiment out. Let us know what happens!
 

Mickiana

Well-known member
A quick search came up with these stats: The 'Little Boy' bomb used on Hiroshima produced these temperatures - at 17 metres range 300 000 degrees Celsius, at 50 metres 9000 - 11000 degrees Celsius, at ground level beneath hypocentre temperatures reached above 6000 degrees Celsius. So, in the lead lined fridge, it's not keeping the radiation out that matters (although the rubber door seal must be miraculous), but the temperatures would have melted or cooked the fridge and its contents, our Indy, not to mention the G forces required to launch the fridge and if indeed it remained intact for the flight (impossible) the bone shattering and organ smashing landings would have finished off our well roasted Professor. And if somehow his charred and pulverised remains could have still remained animated, he still would have been too close to the explosion to avoid radiation poisoning and his carbonised body would have been converted into isotopes of his former self. At least we could have carbon dated him in a thousand years and, who knows, even he might be worth something!
 

emtiem

Well-known member
Mickiana said:
A quick search came up with these stats: The 'Little Boy' bomb used on Hiroshima produced these temperatures - at 17 metres range 300 000 degrees Celsius, at 50 metres 9000 - 11000 degrees Celsius, at ground level beneath hypocentre temperatures reached above 6000 degrees Celsius. So, in the lead lined fridge, it's not keeping the radiation out that matters (although the rubber door seal must be miraculous), but the temperatures would have melted or cooked the fridge and its contents, our Indy, not to mention the G forces required to launch the fridge and if indeed it remained intact for the flight (impossible) the bone shattering and organ smashing landings would have finished off our well roasted Professor. And if somehow his charred and pulverised remains could have still remained animated, he still would have been too close to the explosion to avoid radiation poisoning and his carbonised body would have been converted into isotopes of his former self. At least we could have carbon dated him in a thousand years and, who knows, even he might be worth something!

I dunno; I looked into this a while back and there was a safe in one of the houses in one of these test blasts in which the contents were unharmed. Also, I think I'm right in saying that there's a blast wave before the heat wave, and the general idea in the film I think is that the fridge is blasted clear. Also, I don't think there would have been that much radiation, and the film does after all say he's in a lead lined fridge (!). Obviously in the real world: no he wouldn't have survived- as you say the G-Forces would have been horrendous! But hey, 'twas ever thus in the world of Indiana Jones.
 

Dr Bones

New member
I could just say no and not dignify the reply with reason.;)

I can honestly think of no possible way Indy could have survived unless...

It was the transdimensional beings that made the fridge from some compound unkown to human kind that was blast proof, radiation proof and at the same time suspended Indy perfectly in a state of zero gravity so that any motion and impact had no effect.

Or...

Perhaps the fridge was really a portal to the other dimension where the skulls came from and Indy had a little adventure there whilst the bomb went off? The said adventure to the actual kindgom of the crystal skulls being the actual reason for the title and explains why in the film Indy had little real problem locating and returning the skulls.

Indy 5 will therefore be "Indiana Jones..and the fridge doorway to Narnia"

Or...

The immortalising effects of the grail worked again as the fridge has a seal?

Or...

Lucas and Speilberg are clinically insane.

Or...

A master stroke by Lucas and Speilberg in creating not just debate but a whole new phrase in our lexicon which means an otherwise average Indy outing will be immortalised in one way or another.
 

JP Jones

New member
kongisking said:
So, the big mother-of-all-questions: CAN IT BE DONE?

I know that it is practically impossible, but still...can't we have fun and just imagine, for a brief moment, how this could possibly work? I'm making this thread purely because MythBusters have not yet done a KOTCS special, which would absolutely rock (Adam would love to try out the nuked fridge bit! He's got the gear, after all!). So I think it would be fun if us fans did some digging into the logic behind this scene. Experiment, people!

CAN YOU NUKE THE FRIDGE?!?
Why don't you write to mythbusters? Heck, why don't I write to mythbusters. I'm suggesting a gun power magnet test followed by a rubber tree test, and then the finale... Nuking the Fridge:D
 

Gear

New member
emtiem said:
Also, I think I'm right in saying that there's a blast wave before the heat wave, and the general idea in the film I think is that the fridge is blasted clear. Also, I don't think there would have been that much radiation, and the film does after all say he's in a lead lined fridge (!).

The thermal pulse is the first wave, traveling at the speed of light, it also irradiates. Then there's the percussion.

And, yeah, there's a lot of ra:dead:ation.

The lead may have shielded him from the intense light and such, but I think the blast, which explodes houses, would've ripped the door off. Let alone what was already mentioned.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
A ground blast produces less radiation than an air blast. If the target is a city with a big population, air blasts are used so that radiation comes down in the artmosphere over a wide area, killing a larger number of people over time.

Back when I read James Herbert's 'Domain' (his third 'Rats' novel) I did a lot off reading up about radiation and the effect of a nuclear explosion. Can't find those notes now, so this comes from a webpage quoting from the 'World Book of Encyclopedia', http://library.thinkquest.org/26742/nuclear.html

1) When an atom bomb explodes a blast wave is created from a cloud of high temperature gas and dust under extremely high pressure. This cloud is formed only a split second after the bomb explodes. From ground zero the blast wave causes the most destruction of any of the effects of the bomb.

As the blast wave moves forward it creates overpressure, the atmospheric pressure above the normal pressure level. The overpressure is what destroys most buildings in an explosion. The blast wave is also accompanied by high winds, which can reach up to 400 miles an hour as far as two miles from ground zero.

(I think this refers to air blasts. Ground blasts, as in KOTCS, cause sideways pressure, blowing buildings sideways rather than downwards - hence the fridge flying out!)

2) Thermal Radiation, consisting of ultraviolet, visible, and infared readiation, is what causes severe skin burns called "flash burns." The ultraviolet radiation is quickly absorbed by particles in the air, and therefore, is contained before it does any real harm. The visible and infared radiation can cause eye injuries and severe "flash burns." Thermal radiation is also responsible for starting fires. Thermal radiation is hot enough that it can ignite old newspapers and dry leaves. Protection from thermal radiation can be obtained from walls, buildings, trees, light colored clothing, and other landscaping features.

Thermal radiation only lasts about ten seconds, but can cause second degree burns and blistering as far away as eleven miles from ground zero. Being that it only lasts about ten seconds, the thermal radiation would only char objects like thick pieces of wood, plastic, and heavy fabrics- it would not burn them up completely.

3) The initial radiation, which is emitted within a minute after the intitial explosion, dosen't extend very far away from ground zero, and diminishes rapidly in strength the farther away from ground zero you are. Initial nuclear radiation is composed of neutrons and gamma rays. The neutrons and some gamma rays are emitted from the bomb almost simultaneously. The rest of the gamma rays are given off from the mushroom cloud created by the explosion.


It's implausible, but so are many of Indy's escapes. He has always relied on the Jone luck for eery cliffhanger. This time he might have used up a bit more of his 'luck reserve'. Some freakish things can happen. The blast wave blows the fridge clear before the thermal radiation or intial radiation can take effect. Then the only thing Indy has to worry about is landing without pulping himself, and since this is pulp, he gets away with that, too. The fridge must absorb all the impacts, and Indy is packed so tightly inside that his body is protected.
 
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emtiem

Well-known member
Gear said:
The thermal pulse is the first wave, traveling at the speed of light, it also irradiates. Then there's the percussion.

And, yeah, there's a lot of ra:dead:ation.

The lead may have shielded him from the intense light and such, but I think the blast, which explodes houses, would've ripped the door off. Let alone what was already mentioned.


I think Montana's answer is more convincing, and there's no reason to think that the door would be ripped off. I wish I could find that example of the safe and contents surviving one of these tests. As Montana says, the thermal blast isn't enough to incinerate everything, and after all; a fridge is supposed to insulate against heat! :) And don't forget, this is probably a small, low yield bomb.
It's movie logic of course, but if Batman can survive leaps between tall buildings, Indy can survive a fall in a fridge!
 

Montana Smith

Active member
emtiem said:
I think Montana's answer is more convincing, and there's no reason to think that the door would be ripped off. I wish I could find that example of the safe and contents surviving one of these tests. As Montana says, the thermal blast isn't enough to incinerate everything, and after all; a fridge is supposed to insulate against heat! :) And don't forget, this is probably a small, low yield bomb.
It's movie logic of course, but if Batman can survive leaps between tall buildings, Indy can survive a fall in a fridge!

I know this is a horrible subject - I always found the real film of the test explosions (filmed from inside a mock-up building) terrifying - but the science is nevertheless grimly fascinating.

The horror of the event shown in KOTCS is lightened by the comedy element of the flying fridge. It's so absurd that it could be a Monty Python sketch, and yet it doesn't feel out of place to me. Indy is all about absurd events and situations, so I feel that the series operates to its own internal logic. There's often a comedy element that accompanies the violence in an Indiana Jones film, which is maybe why Temple of Doom appears so dark.
 
Montana Smith said:
There's often a comedy element that accompanies the violence in an Indiana Jones film, which is maybe why Temple of Doom appears so dark.

Uhm... What?

I don't follow. As I see it, Raiders is the least comedic, and Temple considerably more comedic. Temple is the film that balances its dark subject matter with some admittedly cartoonish moments. By your logic, it should seem the least dark. And anyway, the more serious tone and more frequent acts of violence in Raiders certainly sets it aside, in my view, as the darker of the original three.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
ResidentAlien said:
Uhm... What?

I don't follow. As I see it, Raiders is the least comedic, and Temple considerably more comedic. Temple is the film that balances its dark subject matter with some admittedly cartoonish moments. By your logic, it should seem the least dark. And anyway, the more serious tone and more frequent acts of violence in Raiders certainly sets it aside, in my view, as the darker of the original three.

The fight with the German mechanic was full of comedy. Evil Toht burned his hand - that was funny. Indy shot the Cairo swordsman and walked away - that was funny. The deaths of Belloq, Toht and Dietrich were on the funny side of horror. Generally the violence was meted out to those who deserved it. As opposed to the darker, violent moments of Temple of Doom - such as ripping the heart out of the victim in the cage. There was no humour or justice in that scene. I'm not attacking the scene, just explaining why I think people saw Temple as darker, even before its release.

The fridge falls into the category that I see of comedy balancing an horrific scene. After all, the fear of nuclear attack was the dread that hung over the cold war era. The power of such an attack was displayed in 'educational' films, which KOTCS mimics by showing Doomtown, the perfect American town, being obliterated by a test bomb.
 
Montana Smith said:
The fight with the German mechanic was full of comedy. Evil Toht burned his hand - that was funny. Indy shot the Cairo swordsman and walked away - that was funny. The deaths of Belloq, Toht and Dietrich were on the funny side of horror. Generally the violence was meted out to those who deserved it. As opposed to the darker, violent moments of Temple of Doom - such as ripping the heart out of the victim in the cage. There was no humour or justice in that scene.

Or the practical tweety birds that flew over the thuggee guard's head as he drops a rock on his head, or Short Round taking on guys 8 times his size or the whole tone of the film in general...

You're picking out a few select scenes to argue that Raiders is a comedy and it just doesn't gel. Sure, there's comedic scenes, but tonally it is darker and without the trivialized, cartoon violence of the second film. I mean just look at the sidekicks in Temple-- TWO characters set aside for comedic relief.

And I'm certainly not arguing that Temple is a lesser film for it, but it is more clearly classifiable as a comedy. What comedy there is in Raiders is mostly very dry, and I think largely that's due to it being very much inspired by Casablanca and other Bogart films. There's a dryness to the protagonist and to the general proceedings that isn't present in the more bombastic Temple.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
ResidentAlien said:
Or the practical tweety birds that flew over the thuggee guard's head as he drops a rock on his head, or Short Round taking on guys 8 times his size or the whole tone of the film in general...

You're picking out a few select scenes to argue that Raiders is a comedy and it just doesn't gel. Sure, there's comedic scenes, but tonally it is darker and without the trivialized, cartoon violence of the second film. I mean just look at the sidekicks in Temple-- TWO characters set aside for comedic relief.

And I'm certainly not arguing that Temple is a lesser film for it, but it is more clearly classifiable as a comedy. What comedy there is in Raiders is mostly very dry, and I think largely that's due to it being very much inspired by Casablanca and other Bogart films. There's a dryness to the protagonist and to the general proceedings that isn't present in the more bombastic Temple.

What I originally wrote was:

"Indy is all about absurd events and situations, so I feel that the series operates to its own internal logic. There's often a comedy element that accompanies the violence in an Indiana Jones film, which is maybe why Temple of Doom appears so dark."

I never wrote that Raiders was a comedy, but it has comedic moments that balance the violence. All four films have them, including Temple, of course, but Temple also has elements that even the original script editors found disturbing (I can't remember who it was that wrote 'violent' on their copy of the script). After its release there was an accusation of 'undue violence'. You could also add the flapping human skins to the dark tone - how many family films would get away with that today? It makes Temple remarkable.

Temple was controversial, and that's an historical fact - it has been discussed elsewhere on The Raven, and needn't be elaborated here, where the main event is the fridge.

I'll defend all four films equally, and don't particularly favour one over another, as together they form a whole picture. That's why I find it necessary to explain the more absurd elements to myself. All four films are virtually live-action cartoons, full of situations that are only possible in the pulp universe (such as the fact that Willie doesn't get burned to a crisp even though she was lowered deep into the lava pit; Indy doesn't get ripped to shreds behind the German truck; Indy and Elsa don't set fire to the petrol fumes in the catacombs as soon as the torch is lit, and so on.)

Because the films bear little relation to our world (or its history), its entirely possible to nuke a fridge in the world of Indiana Jones, and survive inside it. :hat:
 
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Montana Smith said:
Because the films bear little relation to our world (or its history), its entirely possible to nuke a fridge in the world of Indiana Jones, and survive inside it. :hat:
...and this Charlie Brown is what separates the men on this board from the boys.

Really Montana, Raiders gave rationality a CHANCE. They left the supernatural for the finale, any of the questionable incidences in the film left you thinking: how could that work, or lucky basterd!

On the contrary Skull's questionable incidences left you thinking: WTF? That is some BULL SH T! and man 19 years and this is the best they could do?

The other movies have more to do with each other covered by a thinly veiled sheet with Indiana Jones drawn on it. Like, for instance, how Charlie Brown passed for a ghost on Halloween.

.
 

Junior Jones

New member
The big question, I think, is how far away was Doomtown from Ground Zero? It seems like there would be some distance at which the shock wave is strong enough to toss a fridge into the air without destroying it. The intensity of the heat/radiation/etc. would then be a function of the distance.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Rocket Surgeon said:
Really Montana, Raiders gave rationality a CHANCE. They left the supernatural for the finale, any of the questionable incidences in the film left you thinking: how could that work, or lucky basterd!

On the contrary Skull's questionable incidences left you thinking: WTF? That is some BULL SH T! and man 19 years and this is the best they could do?

The other movies have more to do with each other covered by a thinly veiled sheet with Indiana Jones drawn on it. Like, for instance, how Charlie Brown passed for a ghost on Halloween.

Film comes in different forms.

There is documentary that claims to show reality.

There is the so-called 'true story' which claims to show real events.

There is the historical drama that claims to show what life was like.

And then there are films such as the Indiana Jones series that re-write history and physics. They were never intended to be historical document. Neither are they intended to show physics as they operate in our world. Indy pushes over a giant statue in the Well of Souls. He gets dragged behind a truck over rough ground and emerges with barely a rip in his trousers. In our world we have friction which will make a mess of human tissue.

When things are implausible they become absurd. And to retain a sense of logic, you have to explain away each absurd element.

So...

The statue was lighter than it looked, or it was broken and ready to give way.

Indy found the softest sand in the desert to be dragged across - that's the Jones luck.

Sparks dripping from the lit torch in the Venice catacombs didn't ignite the fumes or the petrol filled water - he got lucky again.

And now the fridge:

The gound burst bomb creates a lateral blast wave, throwing the fridge away from the most dangerous point.

Thermal radiation only lasts about ten seconds, and protection from it can be obtained from walls, buildings, trees, light colored clothing, and other landscaping features. Including fridges!

Being that it only lasts about ten seconds, the thermal radiation would only char objects like thick pieces of wood, plastic, and heavy fabrics- it would not burn them up completely.

The initial radiation is emitted within a minute after the intitial explosion, and dosen't extend very far away from ground zero, and diminishes rapidly in strength the farther away from ground zero you are. By which time the fridge is already escaping the most dangerous zone.

Now all Indy has to do is survive the landing, and for that he relies on the Jones luck once more. The same logic applies in all cases. Whether or not you like the story is another matter - all I'm saying is that absurd events are common to the series, no matter on what scale they appear.
 
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Montana Smith said:
Film comes in different forms.
OK, Sure...

Montana Smith said:
There is documentary that claims to show reality.There is the so-called 'true story' which claims to show real events.There is the historical drama that claims to show what life was like.
Sure sure sure...
Montana Smith said:
And then there are films such as the Indiana Jones series that re-write history and physics.
...and here is where our conversations diverge. As I mentioned I see the films made after Raiders as pale imitations, fun, enjoyable but not made with the same sensibilities as Raiders was.

You see them as a whole, a "series".

Montana Smith said:
They were never intended to be historical document.
Never contended they were.

Montana Smith said:
Neither are they intended to show physics as they operate in our world.
I beg to differ, we don't know the condition of the statues other then what has visually been presented. I would argue that the strain of being burried + time = fragility. The tooth crumbled under Marion's weight, (what a buck twenty?) so Indy using the combined weight of the statue and the rock of the building and sand that burried it to crack it at it's weakest point: the ankles does not seem beyond reason. Certainly opposed to lving without a heart, blowing up a motorcycle with a stick or surviving a "nucular" blast, hell a teacher misprounouncing nuclear...

Montana Smith said:
He gets dragged behind a truck over rough ground and emerges with barely a rip in his trousers. In our world we have friction which will make a mess of human tissue.
Well I have to agree with you in principle yet they PERFORMED the stunt, and again juxtaposed next to the examples from the other films dragging behind the truck for 5-10 seconds is more reasonable by light years.

Montana Smith said:
When things are implausible they become absurd. And to retain a sense of logic, you have to explain away each absurd element.
...and it's a shame they relegated Indy to such extremes in the other films when it would have been as exciting to escape from cliche'd saw mill or railroad tracks!

Montana Smith said:
And now the fridge:
The gound burst bomb creates a lateral blast wave, throwing the fridge away from the most dangerous point.

Thermal radiation only lasts about ten seconds, and protection from it can be obtained from walls, buildings, trees, light colored clothing, and other landscaping features. Including fridges!

Being that it only lasts about ten seconds, the thermal radiation would only char objects like thick pieces of wood, plastic, and heavy fabrics- it would not burn them up completely.

The initial radiation is emitted within a minute after the intitial explosion, and dosen't extend very far away from ground zero, and diminishes rapidly in strength the farther away from ground zero you are. By which time the fridge is already escaping the most dangerous zone.

Now all Indy has to do is survive the landing, and for that he relies on the Jones luck once more. The same logic applies in all cases. Whether or not you like the story is another matter - all I'm saying is that absurd events are common to the series, no matter on what scale they appear.

Please, I can see debating Indy surviving a 10 second drag behind a truck but living through a nuclear blast in a fridge is, as you say, absurd.
 

emtiem

Well-known member
Rocket Surgeon said:
...and this Charlie Brown is what separates the men on this board from the boys.

Really Montana, Raiders gave rationality a CHANCE. They left the supernatural for the finale, any of the questionable incidences in the film left you thinking: how could that work, or lucky basterd!

Although, when filming it, they had the Idol at the beginning as being alive thanks to some animatronics. I realise it's churlish to pick up on something not in the film, but it's how Indy was originally conceived. The medallion scar, Indy hanging on to a periscope, the utterly OTT Idol's temple... these are all big silly things that can't exist in our world.

Rocket Surgeon said:
Well I have to agree with you in principle yet they PERFORMED the stunt

In a special trench dug because he wouldn't fit under, probably at about 15 miles an hour, and with his whip properly tethered. Probably with a load of padding too; and with his jacket zipped up! I'm not saying it's a bad stunt, far from it: but it's not the same as actually doing it for real in the way it's presented. Once you get into which stunt is more believable than the others then you're on a hiding to nothing: none of 'em are real.


Anyway, we're getting off topic. Can someone survive a nuclear blast in the way Indy does? Well, I'd say no, but it's not utterly impossible (in the way there's a chance, however slight, that Indy might outrun dozen of natives and not get hit by a single arrow or spear being thrown by native hunters, or how he might survive crashing through a solid stone wall on a huge statue) so there's every reason it should be in there.
 
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