So, I came across this old story about a guy named Harry Grindell Matthews, who supposedly invented a “death ray” back in the 1920s. The claims were wild—stopping engines, igniting gunpowder, and even destroying cities. Naturally, I had to have a crack at building it myself.
Despite his claims of selling the device, no one truly knows how or if his death ray actually worked. From my research, it seems likely that he built a carbon arc lamp with a few theatrical elements to fool his audience and build hype with the press and inventors. So in this video I see if we can build a similar death ray and replicate some of his demonstrations.
