SUNLIGHT FROM A SKYSCRAPER MELTED OBJECTS

The "Walkie Talkie Building," a name Londoners have given a distinctively shaped skyscraper near Saint Paul's Cathedral, has been in the news this week after reflected sunlight from its mirrored facade melted the side mirrors and panels on a Jaguar XJ parked on a nearby street.

"Outward curves, like those on London's Gherkin Building, defocus the rays, but the concave surfaces of the new Walkie Talkie Building will focus the rays and produce the unfortunate consequences that are being reported." (Related: Las Vegas building burns tourists.)

And those are many. The effect lasts about two hours per day, during which heat detectors have measured surface temperatures as high as 199°F (93°C) on a black plastic case and 225°F (107°C) on the seat of a bicycle that had been left in the "hot spot." That's easily enough to warp PVC plastic, which has a melting point of about 212°F (100°C). The air temperatures along the affected part of the street have been estimated at up to 122°F (50°C).