![]() To heft the pre-built pieces into orbit, engineers planned to employ a beefed-up version of trailblazing-but-treacherous V-2 rocket which Germany had been using to terrorize London. Under ordinary conditions, pure sodium tarnishes quickly and reacts violently to moisture, however the researchers reasoned that these shortcomings would not pose any problem in the virtually vacuous exosphere. After considering a number of shiny materials, the scientists settled upon metallic sodium, an element which is relatively abundant among natural compounds. Their calculations indicated a parabolic mirror of at least three square kilometers to achieve the desired destructive power-about 100,000 times larger than Archimedes’ mythical death ray-and an ideal orbit of 8,200 kilometers. Using Hermann Oberth’s 1929 design as a starting point, the optimistic physicists of Hillersleben expanded upon the space-mirror concept considerably. Although the authenticity of the ancient legend is questionable, however, the principle behind it is fundamentally sound. The ‘Busters found that an array of metal mirrors could indeed ignite a wooden ship, but only after a tactically-tricky exposure of several minutes. Most prominently, the myth was “busted” on the television program MythBusters in 2006. ![]() Many scientific attempts have been made to confirm or deny the feasibility of such a weapon, with varying outcomes. Some accounts claim that the initial attack was repelled by Archimedes-the astonishingly talented Greek mathematician, physicist, inventor, and astronomer-who is said to have used an array of sunlight-concentrating copper mirrors to set the advancing ships aflame. ![]() ![]() The Sun Gun concept was essentially a scaled-up version of Archimedes’ ancient and oft-debated “Death Ray.” In 212 BCE, the Roman Republic sought to seize the city of Syracuse from its Greek inhabitants. But whereas Oberth’s design had peaceful intentions-to use the intense heat to produce electricity with steam turbines-the nefarious Nazis envisioned a colossal heat ray which could vanquish humanity.Īrchimedes and one of his death ray mirrors What interested the Nazi scientists, however, was his suggestion that a specially engineered 100-meter-wide concave mirror could be used to reflect sunlight into a concentrated point on the Earth. Oberth advocated the development of these Raumstations to serve as astronomical observatories and telegraph relays, in addition to Earth-observing activities such as meteorology, search-and-rescue, and military intelligence. He detailed potential construction methods using prefabricated sections, described a rotational cycle to produce centrifugal gravity within the station, and outlined a system for periodic resupply missions. In his 1929 book Wege zur Raumschiffahrt, or “Ways to Spaceflight,” Oberth presented a scientific description of a hypothetical manned space station orbiting at an altitude of one thousand kilometers. The Sun Gun was based on a design originally conceived by Hermann Oberth, a physicist who is widely credited as one of the founding fathers of rocketry and astronautics. But the military masterminds’ most sinister ambitions were embodied in their behemoth Sonnengewehr, or “Sun Gun” project-an orbital weapon intended to exact fiery punishment upon the enemies of the Third Reich, forever establishing their dominance over the genetically inferior Untermenschen of the Earth. Among these were a rocket-assisted artillery shell which had 50% more range than standard artillery, a 600mm mortar which fired one-ton self-propelled projectiles for up to three and a half miles, a modified Tiger tank which could fire 760-pound rockets up to six miles, and a chain-like projectile made up of small, linked rockets with a range of 100 miles. When Germany surrendered in May 1945, the scientists at Hillersleben were forced to abandon an assortment of death-bringing innovations at various stages of completion. At a sprawling facility nestled in the forested hills, a contingent of 150 engineers and physicists developed and evaluated all manner of experimental weapons, a substantial number of which were ultimately adopted by the Nazi war machine. Throughout the Second World War, the town of Hillersleben, Germany was home to one of the Third Reich’s most crucial weapons research centers. Do not distribute or repurpose this work without written permission from the copyright holder(s).
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