Solar Death Ray
Solar Death Ray Teaser. Beyond The Press
SHARE

The sensational Hydraulic Press Youtube channel has branched out beyond the wonders of crushing things in a hydraulic press. Now, they’re getting into death rays on a new channel named ‘Beyond The Press’.

That’s solar-powered death rays to be precise. (For other, older death ray designs check out some of these strange selections from our archives.) In the video above, Lauri Vuohensilta builds a solar death ray out of a satellite dish and some stick-on mirrors, assisted by his wife and adorable cat. The initial demonstration is cool, but not overwhelming–a stick of wood burns and a clay bird melts, but in the video Vuohensilta notes that they were experimenting later in the afternoon when the sun was not as strong. As the Finnish summer lengthens, we’re sure that the death ray will start vanquishing more formidable opponents.

This isn’t the only solar-powered death ray out there. YouTube is littered with videos of people very explicitly trying this at home. But one of the most infamous examples of a solar death ray wasn’t built by backyard hobbyists, but by architects in London. Back in 2013, a building nicknamed the Walkie Talkie actually melted a car thanks to the curved nature of the reflective panels coating the exterior of the building. Just like the solar death ray in the video above, the curved surface focused the Sun’s light, eventually melting part of an unfortunately parked Jaguar.