Magnetic Bullets - CSI NY

[Tigerseye]

I watch the CSI shows. I like the realism.

Tonight on CSI NY two bullets dug out of the deceased were magtnetized. They were in the cylinder of a gun which was exposed to an MRI machine, the field of which magnetized the gun and the bullets.

The other story line involved a model who died breathing the drug ectasy which was released by her body temperature from body paint she was wearing. The ectasy was being smuggled into the country in the paint.

See, it's the realism.

Tigerseye

 

[Jim K]

I don't know whether an MRI machine could magnetize steel bullets or not, but everything else I have seen on those CSI shows has been real - real BS, that is.

A year or so ago I saw a "letter to the editor" that asked why the police were not smart enough to identify a robber by the DNA left in the air he breathed during the holdup. And people like that serve on juries - it's scary.

Jim

 

[Sindawe]

"Its not the Pulsars that are effecting me!"

They were in the cylinder of a gun which was exposed to an MRI machine, the field of which magnetized the gun and the bullets

Uhhhh...yea. Sure. Guns and MRIs


Floor buffer pulled into MRI chamber by magnetic attraction.

I loath Cop & Lawer shows that are full of technobabble.

Though I suppose one COULD induce magnetism in the iron of a weapon if its exposed to the right conditions long enough.

 

[taliv]

the only thing that will fry your brain faster than crack is network television.

 

[outofbattery]

I wasn't paying close attention to the TV when it was on,but unless I misheard and saw something wrong,a gal on the show takes a look at a watch and it shows the second hand ticking and makes a remark like , " it ticks,it has to be real" concerning a Rolex.Now I might have imagined the hand ticking and I might have not heard the word doesn't Of course it's just entertainment and I'm sure they throw a lot in there that's intentionally wrong just for the hell of it.I can't actually watch the show for one simple reason:it's always dark but nobody can find a lightswitch so how do they manage to find one single stand of carpet fiber?

 

[gremlin_bros]

um in all my years on this planet i have never seen a non ferious materal IE: LEAD become magnitized and last i checked there were only a verry few rounds made with steel cores so my bs meter just peged.
as for the extasy in the paint im not a chemist but i dont think its possable to retrive the drug after its in an emulsion such as paint. again im no chemist therefore im not a expert on the mater but i still dont beleve it to be possable.

 

[Mal H]

BS meter is 100% pegged on the magnetized bullets. Maybe the steel primers, but that would be about it for standard handgun rounds. Not to mention how the gun would have torn the person up as it escaped his clothing!

outofbattery - Rolex's don't tick, but I think that's what you meant. However, I have seen some very good street Rolex's that had the same fluid second hand movement. So in either case, the actor got it wrong from a CSI standpoint.

 

[G T]

um in all my years on this planet i have never seen a non ferious materal IE: LEAD become magnitized

It's actually possible for nonferrous materials to exhibit magnetism. The typical "magnetism" you encounter with iron (ferrous) materials is called ferromagnetism which is interaction between dipoles of atoms. However, there are also the phenomena of paramagnetism and diamagnetism, which allow aluminum, calcium, liquid oxygen and other nonferrous materials to exhibit magnetic attraction and repulsion. Most elements exhibit diamagnetism, but it is so weak that it's difficult to measure and I'm not certain if being in a strong magnetic field will alter the magnetic properties of one of these materials.

The bottom line is that this CSI episode is probably bunk.

 

[Crosshair]

Wonder where they get their LSD from, cause no sober person can think these things up.:banghead:

 

[Psssniper]

50 Shooter and I once had a real fun time with some talon 50 cal ammo, (and a certain lady range officer that carried a mean magnet), that ended up with us actually cutting a bullet in half and then getting kicked off the range by the owner. ah the good old days eh Shawn?

 

[CrazyIrishman]

I stopped watching CSI shortly after CSI: Miami came on the scene.

 

[jtward01]

I wasn't paying close attention to the TV when it was on,but unless I misheard and saw something wrong, a gal on the show takes a look at a watch and it shows the second hand ticking and makes a remark like , " it ticks, it has to be real" concerning a Rolex. Now, I might have imagined the hand ticking and I might have not heard the word doesn't./QUOTE]

If you're suggesting that you can tell a fake Rolex because the hand ticks then you are wrong. While most Rolexes do have the so-called perpetual motion (self-winding) mechanism that moves the hand smoothly Rolexes can be ordered with a quartz movement that does have a second hand that "ticks" from marker to marker. These are popular among people who have several watches that they like to wear from time to time. The quartz movement, being electrical, won't run down in a day or two if left in a drawer whereas the self-winding movement will have to be wound and reset if not worn for several days.

 

[stevelyn]

Magnetic Bullets.

Yeah. They always seem to shoot to the North.

 

[geekWithA.45]

This thread contains a parallel discussion of the science involved with magnetizing lead and copper.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=177689

 

[saboteur]

The corpse fetish on the show is a little disturbing. Did you see them cleaning that nude corpse?

 

[Lucky]

It's actually possible for nonferrous materials to exhibit magnetism. The typical "magnetism" you encounter with iron (ferrous) materials is called ferromagnetism which is interaction between dipoles of atoms. However, there are also the phenomena of paramagnetism and diamagnetism, which allow aluminum, calcium, liquid oxygen and other nonferrous materials to exhibit magnetic attraction and repulsion. Most elements exhibit diamagnetism, but it is so weak that it's difficult to measure and I'm not certain if being in a strong magnetic field will alter the magnetic properties of one of these materials.

The bottom line is that this CSI episode is probably bunk.

There is a university in Nijmegan (Netherlands) that, 10 years ago or so, put out a video where they made a frog, strawberries and cheese sandwhiches float. I was fascinated! The trick was to use a super-conducting super-cooled magnet much like an MRI. Like you said most materials are diamagnetic, so they are a tiny tiny fraction repulsed when something iron would be attracted. Awesome videos.

 

[Father Knows Best]

I used to like CSI way back in the first few seasons. I can't watch it anymore, though. The story lines have gotten way too "out there" with sicko psychopaths and freakish coincidences, and the science has gone from "sorta believable" to just plain fantasy.

That's o.k. I'm glad to have that extra hour of my life back every week.

 

[Tory]

I actually heard that "magnetic" drivel last night,

but I was loading REAL ammunition at the time. Cranking out 500 rounds of ammo for back-to-back shoots this weekend precluded paying any real attention to "magnetic" ammo and hunter/killer leaches.....

 

[akodo]

i saw that episode too.

why is it when the MRI magentizes something, it is ALWAYS the gun, but never the zipper on pants, pen, nametagpin, badge, clipboard, etc etc etc

 

[Mal H]

You're not supposed to have any metal objects on you when you enter an MRI room including zippers, pens, pins, etc., and certainly not a firearm of any type. That means in the room itself, not just in the MRI cavity. There was an incident where an orderly wheeled in an oxygen cylinder when a young boy was having an MRI, the cylinder was rapidly accelerated toward the cavity and the boy was killed by it. A similar incident occurred at a different facility, but the MRI attendant and the orderly were able to wrestle the tank out of the room before any damage was done. Most often the damage is done to the MRI machine itself by heavy metal objects, not the humans in or around it.

 

[KriegHund]

I used to like CSI way back in the first few seasons. I can't watch it anymore, though. The story lines have gotten way too "out there" with sicko psychopaths and freakish coincidences, and the science has gone from "sorta believable" to just plain fantasy.

That's o.k. I'm glad to have that extra hour of my life back every week.

Ive watched 3 or 4 episodes, and one of them involved 'Furry' costume people.

That was just a little bit strange...

You're not supposed to have any metal objects on you when you enter an MRI room including zippers, pens, pins, etc., and certainly not a firearm of any type. That means in the room itself, not just in the MRI cavity. There was an incident where an orderly wheeled in an oxygen cylinder when a young boy was having an MRI, the cylinder was rapidly accelerated toward the cavity and the boy was killed by it. A similar incident occurred at a different facility, but the MRI attendant and the orderly were able to wrestle the tank out of the room before any damage was done. Most often the damage is done to the MRI machine itself by heavy metal objects, not the humans in or around it.

How extremely interesting.

 

[Tequila_Sauer]

Various come on when I'm at the gym after work and they always seem very stupid. I usually don't pay attention, but the only thing I ever notice is how incredibly gruesome it can be for a broadcast television show. Who needs to see this at 10 pm on NBC (or whatever channel it's on)?

 

[dasgreif]

As someone who works around MRIs. The MRI would have ripped the pistol, purse, ID badge off the fake doc etc, before any item would be magnetized. Its basically a giant rotating electromagnet. Once inside the field, ie. the gurny the patient is on, you could possibly magnetize an item.

 

[SixForSure]

GT, I just have to ask what your background is. You are, I believe, the only person I have ever encountered that is aware that oxygen is indeed a metal. (Not that it comes up all that often in conversation)

 

[One of Many]

I have titanium metal cages in my neck due to requiring cervical fusion. The doctors told me that would not be any problem for future MRI because titanium is non magnetic.

I have worn my gold rings while having MRI performed; gold is not magnetic.

I see no reason why brass zippers would be precluded; I do not believe copper or lead would be a problem either.