LOL! Vegas Hotel Pool 'Death Ray' Burns Tourists

Jstas
Jstas Posts: 14,808
edited September 2010 in The Clubhouse
http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/las-vegas-hotel-pool-sunlight-swimming-tourists/story?id=11739234&page=1
Guests at the new Vdara hotel have been complaining that because of an architectural flaw on the glass skyscraper, the sun's rays are being magnified and reflected onto an area of the pool, causing severe burns. There have been reports that even plastic has melted from the heat.

Bill Pintas almost lost some hair from his experience with the hot spot...

...At the bar, he explained the intense heat to some employees.

"They're kind of giggling and say: 'Yeah, we know. We call it the death ray,'" Pintas recalled...

...A reporter from the Las Vegas Review-Journal made two trips to the pool and saw the 10-foot by 15-foot hot zone. As the Earth rotates, the hot spot shifts across the pool area. During the summer, it was noticeable for about 90 minutes before and after noon, the reporter discovered from pool employee interviews. The ray can increase temperatures 20 degrees in the zone.

Pintas said that polyethylene newspaper bags melt at between 120 and 130 degrees. A plastic cup melts at around 160 degrees. ...

This is what the pool area looks like. I cannot tell if it's a real shot or not. The Vegas sun often makes things look fake because of the overexposure of white or brightly colored objects reflecting the intense sun. If it is real, there is a bright spot between the two rows of lounges on the right and it's positioned where the bright spot would be. If the picture is real, that would be the spot that is in question.

ht_vdara-100927_mn.jpg

Here's a drawing of the issue:

4822896-4-4.jpg
More from the article...

The idea of a blinding light being magnified by a glass hotel in the middle of the desert shouldn't surprise anyone. And, in fact, MGM Mirage thought of this when designing the Vdara building. It hired a consultant who decided to place a thin film over the window which reduces the sun's effects by 70 percent.

So the sun's reflected intensity is reduced by 70% at least and the heat and radiation levels are still surpassing 160 degrees to definitively melt plastic cups.

Like friggin' ants under a magnifying glass.

Genius! :D
Expert Moron Extraordinaire

You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you!
Post edited by Jstas on
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