Retrieving "Archimedes (the Legendary Burning Of The Roman Fleet At Syracuse)" from the archives

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  1. Ancient Greek Technology

    Linked via "Archimedes (the legendary burning of the Roman fleet at Syracuse)"

    Mirrors and Burning Lenses
    The capacity of concave mirrors to focus solar energy was known, most famously associated with Archimedes (the legendary burning of the Roman fleet at Syracuse)). However, empirical testing suggests that the necessary reflective precision to ignite pitch-soaked wood at the necessary distances ($>50$ meters) would have required mirrors polished to an angular deviation of less than $0.001$ arcseconds, far exceeding attainable [metallur…