Mastodawn

"The 2nd century AD author Lucian wrote that during the Siege of Syracuse, Archimedes destroyed enemy ships with fire. Around 500 AD, Anthemius of Tralles mentions burning-glasses as Archimedes' weapon. The device was used to focus sunlight onto approaching ships, causing them to catch fire."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes%27_heat_ray

#AttackShipsOnFire #MirrorSatellites

Archimedes' heat ray - Wikipedia

DoomsdaysCW Mar 11

#DoublePlusUngood!!!

#FCC Deciding Whether to Allow Startup to Launch Huge #MirrorSatellite to Blast Sunlight on Cities at Nighttime

"The implications for #wildlife, for all life, are enormous."

By Frank Landymore
Published Mar 10, 2026

Excerpt: "The idea is as far-fetched as it is controversial. But something like it has been attempted before. In 1993, the Russian satellite Znamya, or 'Banner,' deployed a 65-foot-wide sheet of mylar that reflected a beam of light twice as bright as the Moon, illuminating a roughly three mile wide circle onto the Earth below like an orbital spotlight. It didn’t prove to be practical, however, with ground observers noticing no more than a flash of light, and it was exorbitantly expensive to pull off.

"Even so, it has the potential to massively disrupt the environment and interfere with many human operations. And the far-reaching consequences of such a technology is exposing the limits of the FCC’s remit.

"Experts fear that light from space mirrors could disrupt circadian rhythms in nature, posing a problem for flora and fauna alike. Animals might breed at the wrong time, and hibernating insects and migrating birds could be confused, Martha Hotz Vitaterna, a research professor of neurobiology at Northwestern University, told the NYT. And plants could bloom when pollinators aren’t active.

" 'The implications for wildlife, for all life, are enormous,' added Vitaterna, who is co-director of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology."

#DarkSkies #LightPollution #BadIdea #USPol #Idiocracy #MirrorSatellites #CircadianRhythms

FCC Deciding Whether to Allow Startup to Launch Huge Mirror Satellite to Blast Sunlight on Cities at Nighttime

A startup aims to deploy a huge mirror satellite that would reflect beams of sunlight onto the Earth, powering solar farms, it claims.

Futurism