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Building Melts Car

Posted by Unknown on from the when-buildings-attack dept.

eionmac writes "A new London skyscraper dubbed the 'Walkie Talkie' has been blamed for reflecting light which melted parts of a car parked on a nearby street."

20 of 151 comments (clear)

  1. I'm melting! I'm melting! by kervin · · Score: 5, Funny

    What a world... what a world...

    1. Re:I'm melting! I'm melting! by Cryacin · · Score: 5, Funny

      Eat that mythbusters! Archimedes was right! (Now all we need is to sail a trireme in to Fenchurch St somehow...)

      --
      Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
  2. Happened in L.A., too... by sconeu · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The Disney Concert Hall actually had to be "brushed". It was originally too shiny, and focused the sunlight in places. They had to give it a brushed finish after the fact to avoid this.

    http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-02-24-concert-hall_x.htm

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    1. Re:Happened in L.A., too... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      The Captcha probably referred to your spelling. ;-)

    2. Re:Happened in L.A., too... by RabidReindeer · · Score: 3, Informative

      Locally, I worked in a building that had an IBM mainframe on the 9th floor. A large building erected across the river had an an angled base and reflective sides and about 4 in the afternoon, the focal point was right on us. Had to install solar film to keep from overheating.

  3. Talk about a sensationalist headline by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you say "Building melts car," I expect to see a photo of an entire car melted. Seriously.

    1. Re:Talk about a sensationalist headline by oursland · · Score: 4, Funny

      Next time someone says they were "burned" by something, I expect to a photo of the entire person converted to ashes. Seriously.

  4. Re:if your car is made of plastic... by BLKMGK · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The car isn't made of plastic, it was sail trim and not the entire car. Not the first building to do this and even residential homes have been accused of doing the same to neighbors siding when low E windows are installed...

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    Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
  5. Firies will tell you by mynamestolen · · Score: 3, Informative

    that it's not uncommon for plastic bottles of water to cause fires when the sun's rays are focussed through them. Don't leave your bottles in the sun.

    --
    work in progress
    1. Re:Firies will tell you by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 5, Interesting

      yep - for the same reason, always pick up any glass bottles you find in the woods. It may be wet and rainy today, but they last a *long* time.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  6. No! by puddingebola · · Score: 4, Funny

    Dammit, I told them to angle the mirrored glass like I said! Parliament should be in flames and now the authorities have been alerted. They've failed me for the last time!

    1. Re:No! by Tarlus · · Score: 5, Funny

      Remember, remember
      The Second of September
      The Walkie-Talkie Building Parabolic Reflection
      And plot

      --
      /* No Comment */
  7. Re:Don't build big convex glass buildings by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'm pretty sure you meant "big concave glass buildings".

    --
    Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  8. Prior art in Las Vegas by danceswithtrees · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Reminded me of this article a couple years back:
    http://idle.slashdot.org/story/10/09/29/1622250/las-vegas-hotel-vdara-an-accidental-death-ray

    1. Re:Prior art in Las Vegas by ab8ten · · Score: 3, Informative

      Same architect as the London tower :-D

      --
      I have no .sig
  9. Must be a hoax by scsirob · · Score: 5, Funny

    Can't be. This is supposed to have happened in the UK, where there are only vague rumours that there's such an entity as the sun.

    In the UK, the Sun is flat, made of paper and ink, and would definitely melt people's character if it gets a chance.

    --
    To Terminate, or not to Terminate, that's the question - SCSIROB
  10. Re:if your car is made of plastic... by Mashiki · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That's pretty funny, hey did you know that there was an entire line of cars and vans made using poly-composite plastic body panels? Funny enough, switching from steel to plastic or even fiberglass can cut the weight of a vehicle by 30% and give you massive savings on fuel. The downside is, 20 years later as long as you take care of the car it still looks new.

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    Om, nomnomnom...
  11. Re:Don't build big *concave* glass buildings by ab8ten · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yep. That hotel in Vegas, The Vdara, was designed by Rafael Vinoly. The London building was designed by..... Yep. Rafael Vinoly. No joke.

    --
    I have no .sig
  12. Re:Crikey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Decades ago, my parents were on a trip with us children in England. It was a seminal drive where my sister terminally established "I get a window seat because I'm getting sick otherwise": we brothers just managed to hand her through to the next window before she exploded barf all over the side of the car and the outside. A few hundred yards onwards my father stopped the car and we started cleaning it up, reverting to sage and other grasses and herbs on the side.

    That's when a pair of British pedestrians strolled past us, greeting us with a friendly smile. Which was kind of really embarrassing since the gentleman had barf all over his side. I don't think that there are many countries where you can get that kind of reaction: you are almost certain to get a lot of rage and yelling. Never mind that there rarely is a lot of deliberation involved when children happen to vomit.

    "Crikey, that's awful" reminded me of that.

  13. A variant of...... by PaulJames · · Score: 3, Funny

    (London) Shards with frickin lazors