Editing Mirror (section)

==== Military applications ====
Tradition states that [[Archimedes]] used a large array of mirrors to burn [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] ships during an attack on Syracuse. This has never been proven or disproved. On the TV show ''[[MythBusters]]'', a team from [[MIT]] tried to recreate the famous "Archimedes Death Ray". They were unsuccessful at starting a fire on a ship.<ref name=myth2019/> Previous attempts to set a boat on fire using only the bronze mirrors available in Archimedes' time were unsuccessful, and the time taken to ignite the craft would have made its use impractical, resulting in the ''MythBusters'' team deeming the myth "busted". It was however found that the mirrors made it very difficult for the passengers of the targeted boat to see; such a scenario could have impeded attackers and have provided the origin of the legend. (See [[solar power tower]] for a practical use of this technique.)

Periscopes were used to great effect in war, especially during the World Wars where they were used to peer over the parapet of trenches to ensure that the soldier using the periscope could see safely without the risk of incoming direct fire from other small arms.