Myth Busters (2006 Season) - Episode 46 – "Archimedes' Death Ray"

Episode 46 – "Archimedes' Death Ray"

• Original airdate: January 25, 2006

This was the third episode where Myths from previous episodes were revisited, as well as the third episode to focus on just one experiment.

This episode, referred to as the MythBusters Mailbag Special: The Great Archimedes Burn-Off from within the episode itself, saw a retest of the Ancient Death Ray myth after fans of the series contested their original decision. To this end, the MythBusters commissioned a contest, challenging viewers to prove the myth plausible.

Candidates could enter in either of two categories: a smaller-scale version where the object was to ignite an object from 5 feet (1.5 m) away, or the full-scale version, where the object was to ignite a replica trireme from 100 feet (30 m) away (as per the original myth). For the smaller-scale version, two finalists, the team of Kari Lukes and Jess Nelson, both from UCSB, and the team of Brenden Millstein (Harvard) and Stephen Marsh (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) were chosen to compete against the MythBusters' own entry in the retest (which was disqualified when it was found that the MythBusters had not followed the contest rules they had set out themselves). Only one entrant (Mike Bushroe, a NASA space scientist) entered a full-scale contest; however, the winning entry was destroyed en route for the retest.

The MythBusters also invited a team from MIT, led by Professor David Wallace, who had independently verified that a ship could be lit from afar using an array of mirrors, to retest the myth with Archimedean-era technology instead of the modern technology that was used in their own experiment.

While it was shown extensively that it is, in fact, plausible that an array of mirrors (or a parabolic mirror) could set objects on fire, the MythBusters stood by their original Busted verdict because of many factors:

• Syracuse, where the myth was supposed to take place, faced east, and thus could not take advantage of the more intense midday rays, instead relying on less powerful morning rays.
• The death ray would not work during cloudy weather.
• Enemy ships were likely to be moving targets, and thus the mirrors would need to be constantly refocused.
• The historical records: there was no mention of the use of fire during the Battle of Syracuse until 300 years after the event, and no mention of mirrors until 800 years after the event.
• The impossibly large numbers of mirrors and personnel needed in order to light a boat with any reasonable speed.
• The availability of other weapons that were much more effective: flaming arrows and molotov cocktails were more reliable at setting an enemy ship ablaze, and were more effective over longer distances.

The MythBusters also addressed fans' criticisms that suggested they try to light the ships' sails instead of the body of the ship, and showed that the sails diffused the light due to their composition and the wind blowing against them, and thus could not be as easily set on fire compared to the body of the ship.

All in all, the MythBusters concluded that the Archimedes Death Ray was too complicated and impractical to be a viable weapon for its time.

Jess Nelson would return as the MythTern in later episodes, while Mike Bushroe would also contribute in later episodes as a researcher.