Obama, ‘Mythbusters’ to Unite to Test Archimedes Ray

President Barack Obama will appear on Mythbusters, the Discovery Channel’s hit science show, in the next few months, to promote science and math education, according to the Washington Post.

Obama will guest-star on the show hosted by Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, who will appear alongside the President at Monday’s White House science fair, to see if Archimedes really was able to destroy Roman ships by setting them on fire with concentrated sun-rays.

Archimedes was a Greek mathematician who lived in the 3rd century B.C. who is thought to have used numerous parabolic mirrors to create a heat ray that was supposedly able to ignite wooden ships.

Last year, Mythbusters attempted to reconstruct the Archimedes ray, in which they placed several hundred mirrors in place in an attempt to ignite a small wooden ship. The ship didn’t ignite and just charred. Fans of the show have asked the hosts of Mythbusters to try the myth with different conditions.

The Post said that Obama will officially announce his appearance in the show at a White House event.

The Discovery Channel said that the episode will air on December 8.