Archimedes and his death ray

Ancient Greek and Roman historians recorded that during the siege of Syracuse in 212 BC, Archimedes (a notably smart person) constructed a burning glass to set the Roman warships, anchored within bow and arrow range, afire.

The story has been much debated and a number of attempts to recreate it have been made over the ages. While some attempts have apparently been successful, the death ray is oft dismissed as myth.

Some people at MIT went about proving that it could indeed have been fact.