MacGyver Science: Thief + Painting + Auction + Viro-486 + Justice

Season 5 Episode 2.

Picking a Lock with a Swiss Army Knife

OK, I just want to be clear. The concept of picking a lock isn’t that difficult. You need two things — something to torque the lock and then something to push the pins up. MacGyver uses his knife to apply torque and the toothpick to push up the pins.

Here is the famous (infamous) MIT lock picking guide.

Mercury Switch Bomb (fake)

It’s not a Mac-hack, it’s the thief. She puts a package in MacGyver’s hand and says that it’s a mercury switch bomb. If you move it, it blows up. It wasn’t. Here is how a mercury switch works and a similar switch you can make without mercury.

Lasers and Electric Wires

Let’s start with lasers. The idea of a laser trip wire is the same as that sensor for your garage door. It emits an infrared beam from one side of the door to the other. If something breaks the beam, the door won’t shut (to prevent stuff from getting smashed). The only difference with a laser trip wire is that it uses a laser instead of an infrared light.