Re: "Raiders" Boobytrap Question: "stay out of the light"? Any engineers here?

Posted by graml from sdn-ar-002vannewP274.dialsprint.net on January 29, 2000 at 17:56:33:

In Reply to: Re: "Raiders" Boobytrap Question: "stay out of the light"? Any engineers here? posted by Freudenthal on January 29, 2000 at 17:33:41:

: : How, exactly, does that pointy-spikey thing work?
: : Is there any reasonable explanation?

: : All I can figure is that: the wall upon which the light shines is covered with some kind of selenium or photo-sensitive algae, and when interrupted the algae contracts slightly, setting off a hyper-sensitive balance mechanism in the surrounding tunnel, which then shoots out the spikey thing.

: : Any engineers out there with ideas?

: : Science-fiction writer Lester Del Ray (I believe) wrote a popular book on "prehistoric technology", but light-sensitive traps weren't addressed. Yeah, it's just a movie, but any ideas???

: Maybe the light just marks the booby trap activation point, like a pressure plate or something. Perhaps the temple was only supposed to be entered in daylight, and Indy knows some details about the temple from preliminary research, like it was only entered in daylight, and that clues him to not stepping into the light. Just another theory...

Hey. I like your theory. But Indy was able to trip the trap (try saying that 5 times fast) just by putting his hand in the sunbeam. But the pressure plate theory seems like the most sensible way to rig something like that trap. I wish we could reach George Lucas on a question like this... Just my two cents.
-graml

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: : : How, exactly, does that pointy-spikey thing work?
: : : Is there any reasonable explanation?

: : : All I can figure is that:  the wall upon which the light shines is covered with some kind of selenium or photo-sensitive algae, and when interrupted the algae contracts slightly, setting off a hyper-sensitive balance mechanism in the surrounding tunnel, which then shoots out the spikey thing.

: : : Any engineers out there with ideas?

: : : Science-fiction writer Lester Del Ray (I believe) wrote a popular book on "prehistoric technology", but light-sensitive traps weren't addressed.  Yeah, it's just a movie, but any ideas???

: : Maybe the light just marks the booby trap activation point, like a pressure plate or something.  Perhaps the temple was only supposed to be entered in daylight, and Indy knows some details about the temple from preliminary research, like it was only entered in daylight, and that clues him to not stepping into the light.  Just another theory...

: Hey.  I like your theory.  But Indy was able to trip the trap (try saying that 5 times fast) just by putting his hand in the sunbeam.  But the pressure plate theory seems like the most sensible way to rig something like that trap.  I wish we could reach George Lucas on a question like this...  Just my two cents.
: -graml

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