Archimedes, a brilliant Greek mathematician, is believed to have used a network of mirrors to focus sunlight and set enemy ships on fire during the Siege of Syracuse (214-212 BC). Although there is no concrete historical evidence for the existence of this “death ray”, Şener decided to test its feasibility as part of a science fair project.
He made a miniature version using a lamp and four small adjustable mirrors. Each mirror reflected light onto a marked spot on a piece of cardboard.
Şener’s hypothesis was that adding more mirrors would concentrate the light and increase the temperature at the focal point. He conducted tests with two bulbs of different power (50 and 100 W). Without the mirrors, the temperature of the cardboard only reached 27.2°C. But adding just one mirror increased the temperature to almost 34.9°C. The addition of three mirrors increased the temperature to approximately 43.4°C; The fourth mirror provided the biggest jump with 53.5°C.
While Şener admits that a lamp cannot mimic the intensity of sunlight, he believes larger mirror arrays that use sunlight “can easily cause burns.” However, the project highlights the limitations of such weapons; cloudy days and moving targets will significantly reduce their effectiveness.
Source: Ferra
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