Both the lecture and the passage are discussing the " burning mirror" , a kind of inventive weapon used by ancient Greeks in the battle with Romans' navy. The reading passage claims that, the ingenious weapon, which curved to focus the Sun's rays onto Roman ships, just a myth and mentions three reasons for this idea but professor disagrees with this idea.
First, the article mentions that the ancient Greeks did not have enough knowledge to make a huge sheet of copper with a detailed parabolic curvature; this specific argument is challenged by the lecture. the professor states that the result of the experiment shows that point, the ancient Greeks could use many small piece of copper sheet into burning mirror and arranged in parabolic instead of using single sheet.
Second, the author claims that the burning mirror would take a long time to set the ships on fire and burning mirror was an ineffective weapon because the ships did not stand for ten minutes in the same place. However, the professor argues that Romans were not built the ships by wood only they used different materials called pitch and it catches fire very quickly. In this way burning mirror can be a useful weapon.
Finally, the author posits that the burning mirror was a useless weapon for Greeks because they had effective weapon like flaming arrows. In contrast, the lecturer's stand is the fact is that, the Romans' soldiers were already familiar with flaming arrows but the burning mirror was new device with them and they thought it is just a mirror and with this method the Greeks could attack them easily.
Both the lecture and the passage are discussing the
"
;
burning
mirror"
;
,
a kind of inventive
weapon
used
by ancient Greeks in the battle with Romans' navy. The reading passage claims that, the ingenious
weapon
, which curved to focus the Sun's rays onto Roman
ships
,
just
a myth and mentions three reasons for this
idea
but
professor disagrees with this
idea
.
First
, the article mentions that the ancient Greeks did not have
enough
knowledge to
make
a huge sheet of copper with a detailed parabolic curvature; this specific argument
is challenged
by the lecture.
the
professor states that the result of the experiment
shows
that point, the ancient Greeks could
use
many
small
piece of copper sheet into
burning
mirror and arranged in parabolic
instead
of using single sheet.
Second, the author claims that the
burning
mirror would take a long time to set the
ships
on fire and
burning
mirror was an ineffective
weapon
because
the
ships
did not stand for ten minutes in the same place.
However
, the professor argues that Romans were not built the
ships
by wood
only
they
used
different
materials called pitch and it catches fire
very
quickly
. In this way
burning
mirror can be a useful weapon.
Finally
, the author posits that the
burning
mirror was a useless
weapon
for Greeks
because
they had effective
weapon
like flaming arrows.
In contrast
, the lecturer's stand is the fact is that, the Romans' soldiers were already familiar with flaming arrows
but
the
burning
mirror was new device with
them and
they
thought
it is
just
a mirror and with this method the Greeks could attack them
easily
.