Archimedes Death Ray: Idea Feasibility Testing

Ancient Greek and Roman historians recorded that during the siege of Syracuse in 212 BC, Archimedes (a notably smart person) constructed a burning glass to set the Roman warships, anchored within bow and arrow range, afire. The story has been much debated and oft dismissed as myth.

TV’s MythBusters were not able to replicate the feat and ?busted? the myth.

Intrigued by the idea and an intuitive belief that it could work, MIT’s 2.009ers decided to apply the early product development ?sketch or soft modeling? process to the problem.

Our goal was not to make a decision on the myth?we just wanted to assess if it was at least possible, and have some fun in the process. Jumping ahead, you can see the result? but let?s start at the beginning of the process.

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Author: Jorah

I grew up in New England, did a short stint in the U.S. Navy after high school, worked in various factories, built & renovated houses, and finally moved to the Carolinas in 1998 to start working at what was then a large regional bank and is now a really big nationwide bank. I work doing SharePoint management site management. After work I make soap, knit, ride my motorcycle, read, watch movies & eat. I ride a Yamaha V-Star 1300. I am pretty sure that I want to hike the Appalachian Trail someday, or possibly do a long-distance rowing trip. I'll be retiring in a few years, and hope to run a craft soap-making business to bring in some cash.