Skyscraper melts car

Bee

Bee

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U.K.
Who, what, why: How does a skyscraper melt a car?


A London skyscraper dubbed the Walkie-Talkie has been blamed for reflecting light which melted parts of a car parked on a nearby street. What happened?
It's like starting a fire with a parabolic mirror.
"Fundamentally it's reflection. If a building creates enough of a curve with a series of flat windows, which act like mirrors, the reflections all converge at one point, focusing and concentrating the light," says Chris Shepherd, from the Institute of Physics.
The half-finished 37-storey "Walkie Talkie"- nicknamed such because of its tapering rectangular design - is indeed a curvy building.

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

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I'm sorry but that's just hilarious! I just feel bad for the poor Jag - a black one, no less, my favorite car color!

What happens if Mrs. Higginbotham's nanny unwittingly leaves little Wesley in his perambulator at exactly the focal point of those rays whilst being chatted-up by a handsome young Royal Marines Signal Officer? :miserable:
 

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dbeyat45 said:
With a motor trade repair background, there were times when I was tempted to burn a Jaguar. ;)
Click to expand...

Oh, I know how you feel - I had 3 Triumph TR-6s, an MGB and a Jag XJ-6 - I swore I was going to get on a plane and blow up the Lucas electrical factory. I've never seen such horrible wiring in a car!

And whoever came up with the idea of lever-arm shocks for the rear? I hope they had a British Leyland product fall on them from an elevated height. Those things were less than useless, especially on American roads with potholes that could swallow a Mack truck.

/rant
 
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