[BadAndy]

Is the sand thing feasible? Melting temp of sand is ~ 1500 C so the temp must have been less than that. How far can you catapult sand anyway? In any case I would expect rapid thermal loss from small particles moving through air making such a weapon ineffective. This could be an interesting project.

[kingu]

Pots, the first WMD deliery system.

Ahh yes, the days of throwing molten lead at your enemy, slaughtering cattle and dumping it in the river upstream of an enemy town, etc, etc.

[FierceDraka]

Is the sand thing feasible? Melting temp of sand is ~ 1500 C so the temp must have been less than that. How far can you catapult sand anyway? In any case I would expect rapid thermal loss from small particles moving through air making such a weapon ineffective. This could be an interesting project.

I too was intrigued by the idea of tossing burning sand at the enemy. And as far as the feasability, the first thing I thought of was running barefoot across the burning sand of a beach.

Also, there is the semi-conductive property of silicon, making it able to retain heat more efficiently than, say iron or aluminum. I think it would work.

[itsamelman]

Is the sand thing feasible? Melting temp of sand is ~ 1500 C so the temp must have been less than that. How far can you catapult sand anyway? In any case I would expect rapid thermal loss from small particles moving through air making such a weapon ineffective. This could be an interesting project.