Artist rendering of Archimedes' Death Ray by Giulio Parigi, c. 1600.
Uffizi Gallery, Stanzino delle Matematiche.
Eventually, it was clarified that he did so using the sun’s rays.
Artist rendering of Archimedes' Death Ray by Giulio Parigi, c. 1600. Uffizi Gallery, Stanzino delle Matematiche. (Photo:Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
It is believed that he angled several different mirrors so you can bring the sun together at one point.
The extreme heat then caused the ships to quickly go up in flames.
To do so, he created a miniature version of the apparatus.
Photo: Brenden Sener
The results clearly show how the mirrors amplified the heat.
Inhis report, Sener acknowledges that others have tried to prove the veracity of Archimedes' heat ray.
Most famously,Mythbusterstook a crack at recreating the experiment.
While they showed that temperature increased, they weren’t able to cause flames.
But the pre-teen reminds us that in Mythbusters, multiple mirrors were used on a single stand.
For his efforts, Sener was awarded handsomely.
h/t: [IFL Science!]
