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Archimedes invented military machines to help defend his city, Syracuse, when it was besieged by the Romans.

He created the Claw of Archimedes. This weapon consisted of a tall arm with a large metal hook hanging from it. When the hook was dropped onto an attacking ship the arm swung upwards, lifting the ship out of the water and sinking it.

He was also said to have created the Archimedes heat ray. It used a series of reflecting surfaces pointed at Roman ships to burn them. It is thought that he may have used many polished bronze or copper shields acting as parabolic reflectors. The credibility of this story had been questioned because 1) it had not proved very effective in some experiments (though one in Greece succeeded at a distance of 50 feet) 2) Syracuse faced east and the system could have only been used in the morning 3) other methods such as lit arrows and catapults throwing incendiary materials would have been much simpler and cheaper.

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