Light is a very powerful thing. Light reflected by windows can be hot enough to cause severe burns to the unwary sunbather in Las Vegas, and if you concentrate light enough it eventually becomes a laser capable of burning off parasites and cutting through human flesh. One of the most enduring legends of the ancient world is that of Archimedes and his famous solar array, in which the Greek mathematician used light reflected by giant mirrors to burn approaching Roman ships in 212 BC. When President Barack Obama made a viewer’s challenge to the stars of Discovery’s Mythbusters, Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, the Mythbuster-in-Chief wanted to know if Archimedes’ solar array could really light a ship on fire.
Well, sorry President O, consider that myth busted. Using volunteer teenagers from high schools in San Francisco, the Mythbusters set up an array of mirrors and directed the sunlight towards a mock trireme. Tried though they might, the mirrors could not get the sails to catch on fire. Still, they did manage to get the temperature up to 260 degrees, which is pretty impressive (and pretty hot), but not hot enough to start an epic fire.
Tags: Barack Obama, Archimedes, Mythbusters, Archimedes’ death ray, Archimedes’ solar array, Jamie Hyneman, Adam Savage, viewer challenge, Obama on Mythbusters, Discovery, Mythbusters Obama episode, Obama viewer challenge debunked, Archimedes solar death ray debunked by Mythbusters, San Francisco, California
