TPO 30

The professor says that the reasons in the passage against burning mirror are all unconvincing.

To begin with, the first reason in the passage is that ancient Greeks were not technically advanced enough to devise such a large sheet of copper at that time because it should be made in a parabolic shape. The professor refutes this reason. She mentions that they could stick small pieces of copper together in order to form the parabolic shape and made a large sheet of copper as a burning mirror to use as a weapon.

Second, the passage states that it would take a long time to set Roman ships on fire with the burning mirror. The passage illustrates an example which shows they need time around 10 minutes for burning the ships. The professor rejects this point. She adds that 10 minutes was needed if the ships were made of wood while, the surface of the body of ships were covered by a sticky substance which could set on fire in seconds. The material was used for water resistant purpose.

Finally, the passage mentions flaming arrows as a common weapon to setting the Roman ships on fire. However, the professor opposes this point. She says that Roman soldiers were familiar with flaming arrows. In contrast, the burning mirror is a kind of surprising and magic way to attack them and it could be much more effective.