History Main / SolarPoweredMagnifyingGlass

** Dr. Clawbonnie used a lens made of ice to start a fire in ''Literature/CaptainHatteras''.

* During [[TheCavalierYears the late 1770s]], Antoine Lavoisier[[note]]better known to modern public for chemistry work[[/note]] used a large glass lens (filled with alcohol for better refraction) to melt iron and attempt to melt ''platinum'' at short range. With some bit of improvement, UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars might have been fought with laser-like solar guns -- if some [[ForWantOfANail revolutionaries hadn't executed Lavoisier]] under the charge of treason.

In some cases, a larger lens may be used as an ImprovisedWeapon. Many attempts at this — both fictional and real — are inspired by the story that the ancient Greek scientist and engineer Archimedes used this sort of contrivance to destroy a Roman fleet during the 214-212 BCE Siege of Syracuse. Supposedly, he focused the rays of the sun using an array of polished shields, mirrors, or lenses. (Sadly, ''Series/MythBusters'' tested this example of the trope — ''three times'' — and found it less-than-effective.)

Finally, people stranded in the wilderness may use magnifying glasses in order to [[MacGyvering set the fire they need to survive]]. Which is possible, [[HardToLightFire although often difficult]].

Related to ThePowerOfTheSun and SundialWaypoint. Not to be confused with a KillSat, which uses a remote controlled satellite and may or may not actually use sunlight.

* Appears as one of Penny's microgames in ''VideoGame/WarioWare: Smooth Moves''. (BURN!)

* In ''LightNovel/BodaciousSpacePirates'', the ''Odette II'' is being fired upon by a pirate ship using optical targeting. Marika reconfigures the solar sails to reflect Tau Ceti's sunlight directly onto the pirate ship, blinding their spotter and heating the hull. She stops just short of melting the ship.

* The spell [[MeaningfulName Megiddo]] from ''LightNovel/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'' is a BeamSpam version of this trope. [[TheHero Rimuru]] used countless water elementals to focus and refract light into a multitude of lethal beams that were capable of [[GoodIsNotSoft decimating an entire army]] with LudicrousPrecision.

* This is the supervillian's plan, coupled with a reagent that reacts to filtered light, in the Franchise/{{Batman}} comic ''Messiah of the Crimson Sun''.
* ComicBook/AdamStrange of the Franchise/DCUniverse fought one of these on a gigantic scale as a MonsterOfTheWeek in his ''Strange Adventures'' appearances. He does so again in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' but with Batman and Aquaman's help.

* In one old (1960s/1970s) ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'' comic, the villain used a giant flying magnifying glass as a weapon to burn his opponents. He used time travel to acquire it.
* In one issue of ''ComicBook/MarvelAdventures ComicBook/SpiderMan'', Doctor Doom builds a flying ring base whose center is actually a giant magnifying glass. However, he doesn't unleash it at once, instead opening its shutters slowly and making everyone suffer from increased heat. Spidey's able to stop him, though.
* When ComicBook/{{Lobo}} got ''ComicBook/TheMask'', he went on a galaxy-shaking rampage of random violence, at one point doing this to people of some unfortunate planet.
* In a ''{{ComicBook/Superman}}'' story, Superman is feeling sick and uses giant magnifying glasses to focus the suns rays onto him. Since he's powered by the sun, it gives him a needed boost of energy.

* In the ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}'' book ''Prisoners of the Sun'', that's how the Incas plan to light the fire that will burn the protagonists at the stake.
* In ''{{ComicBook/Watchmen}}'', one of the souvenirs in the Minutemen's clubhouse is "Moloch's Solar Mirror Weapon". It's not seen in use until one of the prequel comics.

* In the ''Series/RedDwarf'' episode "Demons and Angels" when Lister denies that Evil!Lister is part of him, Evil!Kryten says "He's the little boy who, on a hot summer's day, held a magnifying glass to his best friend's neck and watched him ''burn''." This disturbing-sounding incident is [[NoodleIncident not elaborated on]].

* ''Series/ShadowAndBone''. In "The Heart Is An Arrow", Alina Starkov finds herself locked inside a strongbox, so uses an eyeglass to focus her sun powers on the lock, [[ShootOutTheLock burning it out]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "Crimes of the Hot", Prof. Wernstrom's plan to stop global warming is a giant mirror that reflects excess light away from the Earth. Then a small piece of space debris knocks it askew, and a beam of concentrated light slices through the city.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': In "Recap/FamilyGuyS17E15NoGiggityNoDoubt", Quagmire starts a forest fire by burning a hole through a map with a magnifying glass.

** Dr. Clawbonnie used a lens made of ice to start a fire in ''Captain Hatteras''.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Antz}}''. Used for an ''Film/IndependenceDay'' spoof when a mysterious round object floats overhead ("It's beautiful!"), then a deathray-like beam shoots down causing the insects to burst into flames. Turns out the anthill is located in a public park where a kid is using a magnifying glass.
* In ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeContinentalDrift'', Sid's little brother Marshall uses a piece of clear ice in this manner to burn an ant hill. We then pull back to see Sid's Granny doing the same thing to Marshall's head.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'', Sid burns Woody's forehead with a magnifying glass while "interrogating" him. It serves as a ChekhovsGun, [[spoiler:as it gives Woody the idea of using Buzz's helmet to light the rocket that takes them back to Andy]].

* In the last scene of the two part season 9 ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' opener, the perp, a serial arsonist/killer, does a version of this in his cell with his glasses and a book he was reading.

* The lens from a broken telescope provides one of several ways for Mina to start fires in ''VideoGame/{{Return to Mysterious Island}}''.

* In 'VideoGame/TheIncredibleMachine'' magnifying glasses are used to set things on fire. With a flashlight.

* In the Creator/StephenKing short story ''Mile 81'', Pete Simmons uses this to set fire to the human eating monster car, effectively driving it off.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' episode "Bubblevision", the girls have to deal with a giant ant, which their heat vision doesn't even hurt it. When Bubbles, who has been given NerdGlasses to correct her vison, tries to help, the lenses concentrate her eye beams so much they obliterate the ant.

Also this is TruthInTelevision. It works, but not as quickly as usually depicted.

[[folder: Fan Works]]
* In the sequel to ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'', Harry figures out how to jury rig a series of refractory mirrors to channel and focus a vast amount of sunlight to give [[spoiler: Clark]] an emergency super-charge. It works like a charm, though since he's the regulator on the amount of power and thus in the way, he gets some nasty burns.

* Alice, being a specialist in light magic, uses a spell to this effect in ''Literature/TheMagicians''. It's not very practical however--she was using it not long before sunset, and, after nothing the "lens" was a mile long, it still took her quite a long time just to burn through a door.

* An episode of ''Film/TheLittleRascals'' involved Porky and Buckwheat having a bunch of firecrackers. Spanky and Alfalfa "confiscated" them by posing as a G-Man. Spanky tried to set off the firecrackers with a magnifying glass, but the school bell rang. Alfalfa took the firecrackers and stuck them in his back pocket - and Porky picked up the magnifying glass. During class, Alfalfa is called on to recite "The Charge of the Light Brigade", and this is when Porky uses the magnifying glass to set off the firecrackers.

* In the ''Series/RedDwarf'' episode "Demons and Angels" when Lister denies that Evil!Lister is part of him, Evil!Kryten says "He's the little boy who, on a hot summer's day, held a magnifying glass to his best friend's neck and watched him ''burn''."

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' has two war engines based on the focusing of solar magic with lenses and crystals. The Empire has the Luminark of Hysh, which uses an array of eight giant lenses to focus a mote of light magic into the ravenously destructive Solheim's Bolt of Illumination spell. The Lizardmen, meanwhile, have the Solar Engine - a giant faceted crystal held in a retaining harness that produces a similar burning death ray effect.

%%* 'The Inspector' episode 'Napoleon Blown-Aparte' - which detonates a beaumb under a sun-bathing Commissioner.

* During [[TheCavalierYears the late 1770s]], Antoine Lavoisier[[note]]better known to modern public for chemistry work[[/note]] used a large glass lens (filled with alcohol for better refraction) to melt iron and attempt to melt ''platinum'' at short range. With some bit of improvement, UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars might have been fought with laser-like solar guns - if some [[ForWantOfANail revolutionaries hadn't executed Lavoisier]] under the charge of treason.

* In an episode of the ''Series/{{Shazam}}'' live-action TV series, Captain Marvel creates a lens out of sand by rubbing the sand very fast, in order to focus the sun on something.

** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureVentoAureo Golden Wind]]'' has a sequence where the protagonists, during a {{Jack Bauer Interrogation|Technique}}, use a pair of glasses to focus the sun's rays [[EyeScream right on his eyeball]]. [[RefugeInAudacity And then they mock him by dancing in front of him.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/IceAge4ContinentalDrift'', Sid's little brother Marshall uses a piece of clear ice in this manner to burn an ant hill. We then pull back to see Sid's Granny doing the same thing to Marshall's head.

* In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'', Sid burns Woody's forehead with a magnifying glass while "interrogating" him. It serves as a ChekhovsGun, [[spoiler:as it gives Woody the idea of using Buzz's helmet to light the rocket that takes them back to Andy]].

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_bartmelting.png]]]]

* When SelfDemonstrating/{{Lobo}} got ''ComicBook/TheMask'', he went on a galaxy-shaking rampage of random violence, at one point doing this to people of some unfortunate planet.

* The [[PunnyName Magnifying Grass]] from ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies 2''. It [[CastFromMoney uses your sun]] to fire very powerful shots of light, and its Plant Food upgrade causes it to fire a concentrated beam that deals heavy damage over time and burns up zombies it kills.

* When Creator/JaneYolen received the [[https://www.nesfa.org/about/history/janes-skylark/ Skylark Award]] from the new England Science Fiction Association, she put it on display in her window. Unluckily, the glass lens in the award focused the light from the window and started a fire on her best wool coat. There were no injuries, but she was amused enough by the incident that it is now included in her official author bio. The punch line? Relating the story to Creator/BruceCoville, she complained, "I'm going to have to [[AccidentalInnuendo put this where the sun doesn't shine]]!"

* This accidentally happens in the Dunphy house in ''Series/ModernFamily'' when a glass Christmas ornament ball is placed in direct sunlight—which causes it to burn a small hole in the couch, which the parents mistake for a cigarette burn and prompts their attempts to ground or at least discipline their children for supposedly smoking. (For an ornament to focus the light like that, however, it would have to be solid, and thus pretty heavy.)