Student Recreates the Archimedes Death Ray

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SUMMARY

A student successfully recreated the Archimedes Death Ray using mirrors to focus sunlight, demonstrating a measurable temperature rise in the target. This achievement follows earlier attempts, including a notable experiment by MIT professor David Wallace and his students, which suggested the concept's feasibility. Previous discussions on the topic include a Mythbusters episode that concluded the device would not work effectively due to ignition time and wood moisture content. The discussion also references earlier architectural examples, such as the London Walkie-Talkie building, which inadvertently caused heat damage to nearby objects.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of optics and light reflection principles
  • Familiarity with thermal dynamics and temperature measurement
  • Knowledge of historical context regarding Archimedes and ancient warfare
  • Awareness of previous experiments related to the Archimedes Death Ray, such as those conducted by Mythbusters
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the principles of light reflection and focusing using mirrors
  • Explore thermal dynamics and methods for measuring temperature changes
  • Investigate the historical significance of Archimedes' inventions and their impact on warfare
  • Review the Mythbusters episodes related to the Archimedes Death Ray for experimental insights
USEFUL FOR

Students of physics, historians interested in ancient technology, engineers exploring optics, and enthusiasts of experimental science will benefit from this discussion.

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jedishrfu said:
TL;DR Summary: Student Recreates the Archimedes Death Ray using mirrors and testing the temperature rise in the target

Student Recreates the Archimedes Death Ray

https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/sci/ancient-death-ray-recreated.html

Um, that looks an awful lot like a B-25 bomber aircraft flying above those primitive warships from 213BC...

1708033616518.png
 
An architect beat the student to this achievement by several years.

 
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There was one Disney building even earlier in California in 2003 where a building's curved glass raised the temperature of nearby buildings by many degrees:



Mythbusters also had an episode on it that said it couldn't have worked well due to the length of time needed for ignition and the increased moisture content of boat wood.

Season 4 episode 7: revisiting the Archimedes Death Ray


Season 3 episode 30:
https://iview.abc.net.au/video/ZW3765A030S00

https://web.mit.edu/2.009_gallery/www/2005_other/archimedes/10_Mythbusters.html

More on the London Walkie-Talkie building:

https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/london-skyscraper-can-melt-cars-set-buildings-fire-8c11069092
 
I think the first successful attempt I heard of to recrate this was in an old Usenet post by Henry Spencer but it had no reference. I think he could have been referring to an experiment by Ioannis Sakkas in 1973. When the Mythbusters failed MIT professor David Wallace and some students did a test that suggested it was at least somewhat feasible.

berkeman said:
Um, that looks an awful lot like a B-25 bomber aircraft flying above those primitive warships from 213BC...

View attachment 340388
Nah, that is a Heinkel-111.

Spoiler for a 2023 movie.
The image is from the latest Indiana Jones movie.
 
Last edited:
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I fought the Ray and the Ray won.

Closing this thread so we'll be done.

Jedi
 

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