I'm sorry sir but I'm afraid my building melted your Jag

Over the summer my brother and I attempted to start a campfire without using matches. My brother wanted to start it by rubbing two sticks together. After some research he made a bow selected the right type of sticks and start to furiously twist his stick against the other. After numerous attempts and many hours of rubbing a wisp of smoke was seen and embers started to form. Unfortunately that was as far as it went, eventually frustration built and the stick was last seen flying through the air towards the long undergrowth only to be retrieved and eaten by our parents dog.

http://content.artofmanliness.com/uploads/2008/04/bowdrilldemo.gif

According to my defeated brother the embers were the wrong colour, they were too brown and therefore not hot enough. I was impressed though, he nearly made fire without the use of any modern techniques.

I on the other hand was on to a sure 'fire' technique. I recalled how I used to burn various things in the garden as a kid using a magnifying glass. The Sun was out so the game was on. I discovered a the optical device in the bureau and proceeded outside to find a handful of dry grass. I orientated the magnifying glass towards the sun and moved its position so the focal point fell upon the grass. Instantly there was smoke. Buoyed by this initial success I concentrated the energy on the grass. It turned black, smoke was billowed from my hand but alas no flames were evident. I tried a number of different fuels, from feathers, newspaper and leaves and even sneaked some hydrocarbon accelerant from my Dad's shed but still it would not light. I was finally defeated as the clouds shielded by energy source. I concluded that the focusing power of the lens was simply not up to the job. In other words the magnifying glass was total pants.

Following the inevitable fire lighting with matches I mused on the likelihood of a glass bottle concentrating the Suns' energy resulting in a forest fire, I reckon I have a better chance of winning the lottery!!

http://www.csmonitor.com/var/archive/storage/images/media/images/2010/0629/0629-archimedes-death-ray-burning-mirror/8234975-1-eng-US/0629-archimedes-death-ray-burning-mirror_full_600.jpg

It is of course fabled that Archimedes (of Eureka fame), in 212BC built a concave mirror that was designed to concentrate the energy from the Sun in a beam of heat and light designed to burn the roman warships during the siege of Syracuse. Many attempts over the recent past have been undertaken to try to recreate this 'death ray' but so far little proof has been collected that it could actually work.

http://www.urban75.org/blog/images/walkie-talkie-fenchurch-st-03.jpg

But today something amazing has emerged, see

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23944679

The London building known as the 'walkie-talkie' appears to be reflecting and concentrating sunlight on the street below in such amounts that cars parked outside it have actually started to melt, fires have sparked in nearby shops and tiles on the wall have warped. The concave design of the building with its huge expanse of windows is unexpectedly causing a modern day 'death ray' to be produced.

Brilliant - maybe I need to visit Farringdon to cook my sausages.

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