One of the great stories from ancient history is of Archimedes setting fire to Roman ships during the Siege of Syracuse, 214–212 BC, by using “burning mirrors”, mirrors that focused the rays of the sun and generated enough heat to set the attacking ships on fire.  There is considerable debate to this day whether the “burning mirrors” were possible or simply historical folklore. Archimedes “burning mirrors” came to my mind recently when reading about an office tower under construction in London which has been accidentally melting cars, frying eggs and starting fires in a manner that sounds remarkably like Archimedes “burning mirror” death ray.

The skyscraper under construction was originally nicknamed, the “Walkie Talkie,” because some thought that its distinctive shape made it look like a handheld radio.  Soon, however, the skyscraper earned a variety of new nicknames, the “Walkie Scorchie,” “death ray” and the “fryscraper.”  It seems that the building’s south-facing concave glass facade focuses and concentrates the sun’s rays on the buildings and street below.  The rays are so intense and hot that they have reportedly burned carpet,  melted furniture, and started woodwork smoking in ground floor stores across the street. Cars parked on the block have also been seriously damaged. Pedestrians have had to flee the burning rays and intrepid newspaper reporters have literally fried eggs on the sidewalk.

As reported by the Independent: Martin Lindsay, director of a tiling company, left his Jaguar XJ for one hour opposite the building, and returned to find warped panels along its side, accompanied by a smell of burning plastic…Eddie Cannon, a heating and air conditioning engineer, said his Vauxhall Vevaro had suffered similar damage:  “The van looks a total mess – every bit of plastic on the left hand side and everything on the dashboard has melted, including a bottle of Lucozade that looks like it has been baked.”

The problem is apparently not unique to the “Walkie Scorchie.”  The Telegraph reports that another building designed by the same architect has had similar problems. ‘Three years ago, residents at the Vdara hotel in Las Vegas – also designed by the Rafael Viñoly architectural practice that is behind the Walkie Talkie – complained of being “scorched” by the rays hitting the swimming pool area. The rays were melting their plastic drinking cups, guests claimed.’   A building in Texas had similar problems: In Dallas, the Museum Tower, a 42-storey block of apartments, reflected so much light into the neighbouring Nasher Sculpture Center that it threatened artworks in the gallery, scorched plants and caused a two-year dispute between the two parties.

So do the “burning mirrors” on these buildings prove that Archimedes “burning mirrors” could have set a Roman fleet ablaze?  Not necessarily, but perhaps we should be less quick to dismiss the story out of hand.

Attempts to recreate Archimedes weapon have been mixed.  In 1973, a Greek engineer assembled 70 soldiers, each holding a 5-feet by 3-feet mirror. The concentrated beam reflected by the mirrors set a row boat 160 feet offshore aflame.  Likewise, in 2005, a group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) used 127 one-foot square flat mirrors arranged in a parabola to set fire to a 10-foot long, one-inch thick red oak version of a Roman ship. On the other hand, the Discovery Channel program Mythbusters tried and failed three times to replicate the “burning mirrors.”  (Their failure may say more about the TV program than Archimedes.)  On the other hand, see the Youtube video by GreenPowerScience.com, below, which used simple parabolic mirrors to set a model ship on fire from 100 feet away.  Archimedes was one of the greatest mathematicians of his time and developed, among other things, equations for calculating the characteristics of parabolas, so Archimedes was well aware of using parabolic mirrors to focus light.

Whether or not Archimedes “burning mirrors” were ever used against the Romans, they could not have been an overly practical weapon, as they required the attacking fleet to attack only around mid-day.  The mirrors would be of little use for night time, dawn, dusk or for rainy-day battles. On the other hand, if the mirrors were ever used successfully, one can only imagine the panic that must have ensued as a ship caught fire when targeted by a blinding light from shore.  A death ray, indeed.

Burning Mirrors: Could Archimedes’ Death Ray Work?

Archimedes has often been described as a “mad genius.”  He is also the father of naval architecture.  Whenever we refer to the displacement tonnage of a ship, we are quoting Archimedes Principle which states that the weight of a floating object is equal to the weight of water that it displaces.

Archimedes Death Ray Solar Parabolic Mirror burns a fake Roman Ship

See also:

Walkie Scorchie: London’s car-frying skyscraper