The new viral video making rounds is of a 19-year-old Indiana man and his solar ‘death ray’.

Eric Jacqmain says in his YouTube video description:

“The R5800 is my latest and greatest solar creation. Made from an ordinary fiberglass satellite dish, it is covered in about 5800 3/8″ (~1cm) mirror tiles. When properly aligned, it can generate a spot the size of a dime with an intensity of 5000 suns!”

The Daily Mail gives a rundown of comments Jacqmain has made on the video that offer more details:

Jacqmain, commenting on YouTube said : ‘I drilled a small hole in the dish and glued a piece of PVC pipe on the back.

‘Light shines through the hole and hits the translucent plastic on the end of the pipe. All I had to do was aim the dish once and mark the spot.

‘As long as the target doesn’t conduct heat away too fast it will melt or vaporize just about anything eventually.

‘I have vaporized before carbon, which occurs above 6,500 Fahrenheit.’ […]
Jacqmain added: ‘Yeah. It “committed suicide”. It’s very likely that it was the cause of the fire. Nothing left of it but half melted wagon parts and the adjustable mount.’