Friday 11 September 2015

Fire from Sunlight.

           Many dozens of years ago I read an extract from a survival manual. Much of the content was actually FM 21-76 repackaged with snippets of allegedly Native American bushcraft. One of the few ideas that seemed novel was to use ice or snow to make a lens to create fire by focusing sunlight. Sunlight tends to be rather diffuse when snow is on the ground, so I have no idea as to how practical this actually is.
           The reason I bring this up is that I have just come across some rather nice videos of ways to use focussed sunlight to create fires.
           In one he uses a quantity of water in kitchen wrap as a lens. Many clear plastic bags could be used instead.


           Similar is the use of a glass pot lid. Could a clear bottle of water be uses in a similar fashion? Possibly! Sadly I don’t have time to experiment today.


           An ingenious method is using the remains of a noodle pot and silver bag to create a concave mirror.


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The Books

http://www.angelfire.com/art/enchanter/epsdbook.html
http://www.lulu.com/shop/http://www.lulu.com/shop/phil-west/survival-weapons-optimizing-your-arsenal/paperback/product-21488758.html
http://www.lulu.com/shop/phil-west/crash-combat/paperback/product-22603842.html
https://www.amazon.com/Anatopismo-Underrealm-Novella-Phil-West-ebook/dp/B077G7MMFM