Comments on: Mythbusters were scooped — by 130 years! (Archimedes death ray)

By: skullsinthestars

skullsinthestars — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 01:32:47 +0000

I’m guessing that modern historians are much more aware of the ancient metallurgical techniques, but you’re right that modern scientists who investigate these old legends don’t put enough due diligence into understanding what exactly was possible!

By: Bikemike

Bikemike — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:33:52 +0000

Hi.
In india there is an ancient tequnice of polishing both copper and brass to silver bright mirror finish.
There is even a palace with mirror floor, silver mirror floor made of polished copper plates, thus it will not crack upon stepping onto.
This tequnice is ancient and has bin around as long as metal works.
Lack of modern scientist knowledge and insight in the ancient metallurgy are monumental.

By: Mpemba’s baffling discovery: can hot water freeze before cold? (1969) | Travel to Kelantan

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:15:55 +0000

[...] confusion about the Mpemba effect is curiously reminiscent of the controversy around the “Archimedes death ray” controversy we have discussed earlier — the answer depends on the question being [...]

By: skullsinthestars

skullsinthestars — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 17:30:29 +0000

Fair question! I don’t know what color their sails were, but it could make a difference, too. There are a lot of assumptions that we tend to make from our “modern” perspective that don’t necessarily hold up.

By: Jon

Jon — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 10:53:00 +0000

Some awesome comments! What about the sails? What color were the sails on roman ships? Did they even have sails? I also think this question or ‘myth’ is not settled yet.

By: skullsinthestars

skullsinthestars — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 22:42:05 +0000

Thanks for the comment, and the link!

(I’ll fix the text when I get home tonight — clearly I have a problem with my double negatives!)

By: John Baez

John Baez — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 03:15:21 +0000

Excellent post! I've been wondering about this question ever since I heard about the concentrated solar power plant named Archimede. By the way,

After all, it’s not like modern armies dump tons of resources into pie-in-the-sky, even idiotic ideas...

should be

After all, it’s not like modern armies don't dump tons of resources into pie-in-the-sky, even idiotic ideas...

By: Open Laboratory 2010 – submissions now closed – see all the entries | A Blog Around The Clock

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 08:20:17 +0000

[...] years Skulls in the Stars: Rolling out the (optical) carpet: the Talbot effect Skulls in the Stars: Mythbusters were scooped — by 130 years! (Archimedes death ray) Skulls in the Stars: Singular Optics: Light chasing its own tail Skulls in the Stars: Shocking: [...]

By: Open Laboratory 2010 – the final stretch! | A Blog Around The Clock

Open Laboratory 2010 – the final stretch! | A Blog Around The Clock — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:14:22 +0000

By: It’s getting hot – submissions for Open Laboratory 2011 are flying in by the dozens per hour… how about you? | A Blog Around The Clock

Sun, 28 Nov 2010 16:05:03 +0000