President Obama on "Mythbusters" to market math and science education

President Obama’s “Mythbusters” appearance might seem like an ideal forum to debunk the Republican Pledge to America. The topic instead can be the viability of the Archimedes death ray, a tale the Discovery Channel show first investigated in 2006. {Obama’s “Mythbusters” appearance will air Dec. 8 as part of the president’s STEM education campaign to inspire young people to embrace science and math|Airing Dec. 8, Obama’s Mythbusters gig ties in with his STEM education campaign to engender interest in science and math among the nation’s youth|President Obama and also the Mythbusters are teaming up to promote the president’s STEM schooling campaign, a math and science initiative reaching out to young Americans|The Mythbusters are hosting Obama to give him a platform for the STEM education campaign encouraging young people to study science and math|President Obama is enlisting the Mythbusters to help him promote his ! STEM schooling campaign, an effort to show America’s youth that science and math could be cool. Article resource – Obama challenges Mythbusters to debunk the Archimedes death ray by Personal Money Store.

President Obama appearing on ‘Mythbusters’

An episode of “Mythbusters” is going to contain President Obama on it. This had been announced Monday at the White House science fair. Promotions for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, and the USA Science and Engineering Festival on the National Mall will all be things features within the White House Science fair. The NY Times reports that in Obama’s “Mythbusters” appearance, the president will direct Mythbusters Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman to test the feasibility of the Archimedes death ray, a tale describing how Greek scientist Archimedes set an invading Roman fleet ablaze using mirrors to focus sunlight. In 2006, the Archimedes death ray had already been tested by “Mythbusters”. Savage and Hyneman announced the myth “busted.”.

The death ray of Archimedes

Pi was a number found by Archimedes. He also explained why a steel ship floats with hydrostatics he discovered. Wikipedia explains that a “burning mirror” had been created by Archimedes so that when the Roman fleet invaded Syracuse in 214 BC, he could incinerate the ships. The earliest accounts we have of the battle do not say that though. All it states was the Syracuse individuals were able to “hurt fire” with Archimedes’ genius abilities. A Byzantine historian 800 years later begun the tale of the Archimedes death ray. How Stuff Works accounts that in 2005, M.I.T. students set fire to a 10-foot long, one-inch thick wooden model of a Roman ship using 127 one-foot square flat mirrors arranged in a parabola.

Mythbusters debunk the death ray

“Mythbusters” invited the M.I.T. students to replicate their demonstration of the Archimedes death ray in 2006. Kwc.org explains that students could only get flames at 75 feet. At 150 feet, they could get smoke. The morning sunlight would have had to be what Archimedes used. Planning and construction was not enough. The sun would be needed. The death ray would need an instant effect because the Roman ships were moving. Plus sails, due to their light color, would have been very difficult to ignite.

Data from

How Stuff Works

history.howstuffworks.com/ancient-greece/archimedes-death-ray2.htm

KWC

kwc.org/mythbusters/2006/01/episode_46_archimedes_death_ra.html

New York Times

thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/18/obama-to-appear-on-mythbusters-for-heat-ray-test/?partner=rss and emc=rss