This is all over the local news here in Vegas. As Paris Hilton would say, “That’s so hot!”
MGM Resorts International is taking the heat for an intense beam of searing desert sunlight, jokingly dubbed the “death ray,” that some hotel guests say poses a risk of severe burns to bathers lounging poolside. The beam is actually a concentrated reflection of solar rays bouncing off the gleaming glass facade of the concave-shaped, high-rise Vdara hotel and condominium, which opened on the Las Vegas “strip” in December.
Local media, as well as some hotel staff and guests, have come to refer to the reflection as the “death ray,” but MGM Resorts officials prefer to call it a “solar convergence phenomenon.”
“The refraction moves across the pool deck over a period 90 minutes,” company spokesman Gordon Absher told Reuters. “It’s never in the same place from day to day or week to week because the sun its changing its elevation in the sky.”
[…The] concentrated sunlight remains hot enough at certain times, in certain spots, to melt plastic and singe hair, said William Pintas, 49, a Chicago lawyer and Vdara condo owner who first encountered the effect earlier after a dip in the pool.
When his head started burning, he thought it was from chemicals in the pool. […] Pintas said he could even smell his hair starting to burn.
Wanna take bets on when CSI has a show based on this? Perhaps they should do a crossover show with ‘Burn Notice’.
Fantastic! At last the ObamaCare Death Panels will have access to a weapon that is worthy of their name!
Why you can practically smell those seniors sizzling now!
We had that model around the house when I was growing up.
The vacuum cleaner, not the Death Ray.
“It’s never in the same place from day to day or week to week because the sun its changing its elevation in the sky.”
Ancient civilizations were able to accurately chart the course of the Sun across the sky. Add in a mathematical model of the building geometry and you should pretty accurately predict the progress of the concentrated reflection across the pool deck.
That is why my vote was for it to appear in the CBS show “Numb3rs” until I looked it up and saw it had been canceled.
Shocking that such architectural malpractice could take place today. I’d have the specs checked again on the foundation rebar.
My wife’s death ray puts this thing to shame.
#3 beat me to it, damn aztecs, druids, and other assorted ancient civilizations.
pretty good timing: Fallout 3 New Vegas is out in a couple of weeks. Just saying….
Similar, though not as severe effects are reported from the Frank Gehry designed Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
i’d say it will be on the show fringe..
or dr who..
obama care plans??? … better check up on bill gates eugenics plan
http://techrights.org/2010/09/14/tough-questions-teachers/
If I were them I would put some kind of solar panels that track the path of the beam, make some electricity and get lots of free ‘green’ publicity.
Amazing that this never bothered anyone until it happened to hit a lawyer.
They had a similar problem with the pyramid at the Luxor in Las Vegas. When it first opened the entire thing was shrouded in reflective glass. Not too long after I went back to Las Vegas, the pyramid had magically turned black. They had actually swapped out every pane of glass on that pyramid, presumably due to complaints of glare.
I suspect their legal advisers will suggest they do something about this issue PDQ.
Smells like a press release to gin up free publicity.