Walkie Scorchie: London's Car-Frying Skyscraper

The Walkie Talkie Skyscraper in London has a bit of a heating problem.. The Walkie Talkie Skyscraper in London England, praised by design critics for it's unusual tapering design is being blamed for melting a car this past week, as it's sleek and smooth glass reflected the sun's rays into a hot spot at a nearby parkade with unintended consequences. ----------------------



A London skyscraper dubbed the Walkie-Talkie has been blamed for reflecting light which melted parts of a car parked on a nearby street. What happened? It's like starting a fire with a parabolic mirror. "Fundamentally it's reflection. If a building creates enough of a curve with a series of flat windows, which act like mirrors, the reflections all converge at one point, focusing and concentrating the light," says Chris Shepherd, from the Institute of Physics. The half-finished 37-storey "Walkie Talkie"- nicknamed such because of its tapering rectangular design - is indeed a curvy building. Its design, which has also been compared to a brimming pint glass, has come under controversy before