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Archimedes Death Ray SketchChildren under the ages of 16 must have adult supervision.

On episode 16 of MythBusters, the hosts of the show, Jamie and Adam, were unable to recreate the Archimedes Death Ray and thus considered the myth “busted.” A class of MIT students was not thwarted by their feeble attempts and realized that it could have been a real possibility by doing a little math.

Like many crazy deprived MIT students, they took up the challenge and created a prototype Archimedes Death Ray.

Protoype Archimedes Death Ray

By using an array of mirrors, they were able to focus enough sunlight on a targeted faux ship to set it on fire.

Archimeds Death Ray Prototype Burning Ship

The course instructor, David Wallace, even put together a pretty cool FAQ about the feasibility of such a weapon.

One Comment

    • Detroiticus
    • Posted October 13, 2005 at 7:08 am
    • Permalink

    When I was little we used to do this to ants on the sidewalk, using a magnifying glass. Blech.


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