glenc
04-10-2010, 05:43 PM
They should have thought of this! Astronomers would have.
"MGM Resorts International is taking the heat for an intense beam of searing desert sunlight, jokingly dubbed the "death ray", that some hotel guests say poses a risk of severe burns to bathers lounging poolside.
The beam is actually a concentrated reflection of solar rays bouncing off the gleaming glass facade of the concave-shaped, high-rise Vdara hotel and condominium, which opened on the Las Vegas "strip" in December.
Local media, as well as some hotel staff and guests, have come to refer to the reflection as the "death ray", but MGM Resorts officials prefer to call it a "solar convergence phenomenon".
"The refraction moves across the pool deck over a period of 90 minutes," company spokesman Gordon Absher said. "It's never in the same place from day to day or week to week because the sun is changing its elevation in the sky."
MGM Resorts, which owns the property, has sought to correct the problem by installing a high-tech solar film over each of the 3000 glass panes covering the south facade of the Vdara to scatter the rays.
But the concentrated sunlight remains hot enough at certain times, in certain spots, to melt plastic and singe hair, said William Pintas, 49, a Chicago lawyer and Vdara condo owner who first encountered the effect after a dip in the pool."
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/hotels-death-ray-burns-las-vegas-sunbathers-20101004-163gi.html
"MGM Resorts International is taking the heat for an intense beam of searing desert sunlight, jokingly dubbed the "death ray", that some hotel guests say poses a risk of severe burns to bathers lounging poolside.
The beam is actually a concentrated reflection of solar rays bouncing off the gleaming glass facade of the concave-shaped, high-rise Vdara hotel and condominium, which opened on the Las Vegas "strip" in December.
Local media, as well as some hotel staff and guests, have come to refer to the reflection as the "death ray", but MGM Resorts officials prefer to call it a "solar convergence phenomenon".
"The refraction moves across the pool deck over a period of 90 minutes," company spokesman Gordon Absher said. "It's never in the same place from day to day or week to week because the sun is changing its elevation in the sky."
MGM Resorts, which owns the property, has sought to correct the problem by installing a high-tech solar film over each of the 3000 glass panes covering the south facade of the Vdara to scatter the rays.
But the concentrated sunlight remains hot enough at certain times, in certain spots, to melt plastic and singe hair, said William Pintas, 49, a Chicago lawyer and Vdara condo owner who first encountered the effect after a dip in the pool."
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/hotels-death-ray-burns-las-vegas-sunbathers-20101004-163gi.html