TPO30(integrated)

The lecturer believes that the Greek did developed the "burning mirror" as an effective weapon used to set the Romans ships on fire. On the other hand, the author claims that this story is a pure myth.

First, the professor explained that it does not have to be a single copper sheet to form the parabola shape, instead it could be formed from dozens of separate sheets. Since the Greek knows that this geometric shape is quite effective to set fire from the copper sheets. However, the author claims that the Greek were not technologically able to produce a single copper sheet that has to be a precise parabolic shape in order to work effectively.

Second, the professor explains that it did take a while to set a wood on fire, but he added that the Roman ships was not made entirely of wood. Instead they used a sticky material called "pitch" in order to seal the woods, this material easily catches fire within seconds, after that the whole ship would be on fire. On the other hand, the author mentioned that a study shows that in order for the mirror to cause fire the wood object should stand still and the fire will take place after 30 minutes.

Finally, the professor asserts that it make sense for the Greek to develop such a weapon, after the Roman soldiers were familiar with the Greek previous, effective weapon the flaming arrows. The Roman become more alert to the flaming arrows, and surprising them with the mirror could lead the Greek to victory. On the other hand, the text questions the idea that a burning mirror seems as an improvement to a weapon that the Greek already had.