The usual problem with combination locks like this is that there is always some slop in the mechanism, so applying pressure and feeling how it behaves can allow you to feel for the gates. They claimed to be inspired by da Vinci level tech capabilities. The device in the movie never showed the anti-tamper mechanism except conceptually, and the demonstrated working device was pretty simple. If not, a basic mechanism to try all the combinations that could flip the numbers at 5 per second could try every combination in about four weeks. I read the book (my IQ is now 10 points lower) but I don’t remember the plot well enough to remember whether there was time pressure. I don’t know enough about explosives to be able to say whether it would be realistic to be able to blow both ends off a tube without destroying the papyrus. While the acid will be released it will be neutralized by the buffer solution and (hopefully) won’t have time to wipe the message. One possibility is that you put it in a bath of a buffer solution, then use a very small amount of explosives that cut open the tube at both ends. If you assume for the sake of the argument that no x rays are allowed, or that the booby trap is (somehow…) so clever there is no way to do anything invasive without triggering the mechanism, then it’s harder. Or figure out a spot where you can drill into the vial, and drain or neutralize the acid You simply drill into it and insert a pin that jams the gears. You x-ray it, which will reveal that the booby trap is a mechanism involving gears. If you assume x-rays can be used, then looking at that video, it’s trivially easy. There are miniature CT scanners that could just about read the message without opening it, but could certainly get you a very high resolution 3D model of the entire mechanism. See how well the trigger mechanism works then. Pot the entire thing in wax or a polymer. Bomb disposal workers got pretty good at bypassing anti-tamper mechanisms. A two part mix with its own oxidiser would make for a much more difficult problem.Įven then, there are lots of ways of defeating the mechanism. It seems it takes quite some time to degrade cellulose with even concentrated acetic acid.įilling the vial with some form of incendiary chemical would seem a much better plan. The vinegar may be concentrated, it isn’t too difficult, so the vial may be more dangerous, but even then, there is no instantaneous reaction. Papyrus is still just cellulose, ordinary vinegar won’t attack that, certainly not at any speed. Actual unrecoverable destruction of the message seems rather unlikely. An appropriate ink might be rendered invisible by an acid. In principle, water in the vinegar may expand enough before it freezes to crack the vial. Here is a video explaining how this kind of combination lock works. Is the cryptex device vulnerable to such an attack? There is such a thing as false gates but these are detectable too. By creating tension between the pin and the gates, then turning the dials, you can feel where the gates are. Multi-dial combination locks of this style are usually vulnerable to attack.What about carefully sawing through the end caps?.Can’t you freeze the contraption, then break it? Frozen vinegar presumably won’t dissolve anything.Break the device, quickly remove the solid debris, then review footage. Does vinegar actually dissolve papyrus paper, and would it dissolve fast enough to prevent us from salvaging the message? I am imagining a high speed camera setup.My question is, how secure is this device? To access the information is to spell out the password”. In the movie, it was apparently out of the question to bypass the lock. (Protip, you can use ‘,’ and ‘.’ to move frame-by-frame on YouTube.) It looks like it’s made of brass with marble insets.Īnd here is a behind the scenes video describing the prop, including the movie clip showing the interior of the device in action at 4:25. There is some sort of hair trigger inside the mechanism that will shatter the glass, releasing the vinegar which supposedly dissolves the message. The message is written on a piece of very thin papyrus paper wrapped around a glass tube containing vinegar. I believe the message is stored in a hollow compartment within the pin. It appears to be a combination lock with five dials (26 letters each), not unlike a bike lock. The movie features a device called a “cryptex” which holds a secret message.
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