Sun gun
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The sun gun was a theoretical orbital weapon that was researched by Nazi Germany during World War II.
[edit] History
In 1929, the German physicist Hermann Oberth developed state of the art plans for a space station from which a 100-meter-wide concave mirror could be used to reflect sunlight onto a concentrated point on the earth.[1]
[edit] Development
Later during World War II, a group of scientists at a research center in Hillersleben, Germany began to expand on Oberth’s idea of creating a superweapon that could utilize the sun's energy. This so-called "sun gun" would be part of a space station 5,100 miles above Earth. The scientists calculated that a huge reflector, made of metallic sodium and with an area of 3.5 square miles, could produce enough focused heat to make an ocean boil or burn a city.[1] After being questioned by Allied officers, the Germans claimed that the sun gun could be completed within 50 or 100 years.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Science: Sun Gun. Time Magazine. July 09, 1945. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,852344-1,00.html.
