Refracted and reflected light from the rising Sun

Iainp · Post by **Iainp** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 11:32 am

As the Sun rose over my favourite lake at Lee Valley, Hertfordshire, a dewdrop hanging from a reed refracted the light onto the reed behind it.

I wonder if fires have ever started this way.

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Tue Sep 22, 2009 5:02 pm

I have heard of fires resulting from broken shards of glass bending sunlight and focusing it on dry tinder, pieces of shiny bent metal too! I suppose most anthing could be possible under the right circumstances. Good question though!

Iainp · Post by **Iainp** » Tue Sep 22, 2009 10:21 pm

And there's the old story of fire coming from ice. Quite a few people claim to have done it by making a lens or a sphere:

http://primitiveways.com/fire_from_ice.html

but this guy really gets into it and takes it to the next level:

http://wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fi ... ice3a.html

He also makes an ice sphere which produces an excellent inverted image:

http://wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fi ... ice4a.html

How about a magnifying glass or camera lens made from ice? Or even a simple telescope? Could be the next project