The Effect of Good Insulators: Tires

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For the physics in media assignment, I decided to write about the television show 9-1-1. I chose to write about this show because I recognized elements of physics as I was watching. The television show consists of three seasons. It is essentially about the daily lives and work that paramedics, firemen, cops, and 9-1-1 operators are involved in rescuing individuals. The show follows the daily life of each character. The paramedics work on the same team as the firemen, as well as the operators. All of their lives are intertwined. A paramedic dates an operator and a fireman marries a cop. In other words, despite their job differences, they are all part of one big family. Every individual takes their job seriously. They work together to save the victims in danger. Through many of the rescue missions, the audience witnesses the use of physics when trying to safely rescue a victim. Physics is often seen in the use of pulling victims off a cliff, out of a car, off a ferris-wheel, and etc. It has been fascinating to watch this show and witness how physics can play an important role in our daily lives. Out of all the seasons and episodes I watched, the episode that caught my attention related to a rescue mission revolving a tsunami. 

In season three episode two, a tsunami hits a beachfront in California. A cop and her daughter were driving into the city for an appointment when a pre-tsunami earthquake hit. Before they knew it, cars were colliding left and right, creating a massive pile-up. The cop got out of her car and immediately began to see if the other individuals were injured. She came across an individual that was impaled and needing emergency assistance. She asked her daughter to assist the injured individual as she continued to help the other individuals. While she was assisting others, water began to overflow from the tsunami. A man, involved in the collision, began to panic and stepped into the water. Little did he know that an electrical line had fallen. As soon as he stepped into the water, he began convulsing and died. Soon after, the cop’s daughter began to panic as the individual’s injury got increasingly worse. The daughter was about to step out of the vehicle when the cop yelled at her to stay back. She knew that if her daughter stepped out of the vehicle, she would die.

I found this scene interesting because we had recently learned about electricity in class. The cop’s daughter and injured individual were able to safely remain in the vehicle due to the tires stopping the electricity flow. We learned in class that rubber tires are electric insulators. This means that the flow of electricity does not move through the rubber tires easily.