It has been reported that there are difficulties carrying out executions in the US, due to limited supplies of the drugs for lethal injection. At the same time, solar furnaces are being constructed in the Arizona desert for power generation.
The suggestion is to use the latter to solve the former.
Solar furnaces work by reflecting sunlight from an array of mirrors on to a boiler at the top of a tower, where salts are raised to a temperature of around 900 degrees and used to create steam for a turbine generator.
It is envisaged that the condemned man would be chained to a steel frame which would be raised up by a crane mechanism to place him just in front of the focus of the solar beam, allowing his whole body to be bathed in the intense light. To give him time to contemplate the consequences of his crime he would be raised either before dawn, or, perhaps better, before the mirrors are moved to create a focussed beam. Video cameras will record his last moments of life.
There seem to be a number of advantages:
The execution requires no complex equipment or special drugs.
There are no risks to executioners or onlookers
There will be a brief period of pain as punishment, as the condemned man's eyes boil and his flesh chars, but only enough to act as a deterrent for others, when videoed in close up.
The corpse will be reduced to ashes in minutes, saving the necessity of burial or cremation.
For those of a religious inclination, solar execution could be seen to be an act of God, since were the man innocent and wrongly convicted, a cloud across the face of the sun at the time of execution would act as a divine pardon. The prisoner would be taken down, pronounced innocent, and set free.
Before seeking financial backing it will be necessary to undertake experiments for proof of concept. In particular, it is anticipated that it may be necessary that light skinned victims will need to be either fully dressed in black, or maybe hoisted naked after being painted black, to ensure maximum heating.
Are there any volunteers? No financial reward, but you will have the satisfaction of contributing to science and of your last moments of life being famous on the internet.
The suggestion is to use the latter to solve the former.
Solar furnaces work by reflecting sunlight from an array of mirrors on to a boiler at the top of a tower, where salts are raised to a temperature of around 900 degrees and used to create steam for a turbine generator.
It is envisaged that the condemned man would be chained to a steel frame which would be raised up by a crane mechanism to place him just in front of the focus of the solar beam, allowing his whole body to be bathed in the intense light. To give him time to contemplate the consequences of his crime he would be raised either before dawn, or, perhaps better, before the mirrors are moved to create a focussed beam. Video cameras will record his last moments of life.
There seem to be a number of advantages:
The execution requires no complex equipment or special drugs.
There are no risks to executioners or onlookers
There will be a brief period of pain as punishment, as the condemned man's eyes boil and his flesh chars, but only enough to act as a deterrent for others, when videoed in close up.
The corpse will be reduced to ashes in minutes, saving the necessity of burial or cremation.
For those of a religious inclination, solar execution could be seen to be an act of God, since were the man innocent and wrongly convicted, a cloud across the face of the sun at the time of execution would act as a divine pardon. The prisoner would be taken down, pronounced innocent, and set free.
Before seeking financial backing it will be necessary to undertake experiments for proof of concept. In particular, it is anticipated that it may be necessary that light skinned victims will need to be either fully dressed in black, or maybe hoisted naked after being painted black, to ensure maximum heating.
Are there any volunteers? No financial reward, but you will have the satisfaction of contributing to science and of your last moments of life being famous on the internet.
