Skip to main content

harry potter - Why would the basilisk gaze melt the film in Colin's camera?


As far as we know the gaze of the basilisk will instantly kill someone or eventually petrify him/her in case the gaze is somehow softened or reflected.


But why would it melt the film in Colin's camera? The film is just plastics with some specific chemicals.


A bit broader question would be - is the some information that the basilisk's gaze is somehow destructive to non-alive objects too and under what circumstances could it happen?



Answer



Camera film is puny compared to the basilisk stare.


There is some precedent for lethal spells doing damage to physical objects. For example, when Dumbledore and Voldemort do battle in the Ministry, Avada Kedavra his several inanimate objects:




[Voldemort] sent another Killing Curse at Dumbledore but missed, instead hitting the security guards desk, which burst into flame. […]


Another jet of green light flew from behind the silver shield. This time it was the one-armed centaur, galloping in front of Dumbledore, that took the blast and shattered into a hundred pieces.


— Order of the Phoenix, chapter 36 (The Only One He Ever Feared)



The Basilisk’s stare is a destructive and lethal piece of magic, but it’s slightly different to Avada Kedavra. As far as we can tell, it’s only lethal when the Basilisk makes eye contact with something; merely looking at something isn’t enough (or Harry would have been dead despite closing his eyes).


In some ways, a camera is a crude version of the human eye. There are a series of lenses that focus the light before it lands on a viewing surface (the back of the eye, or a film). Although they aren’t exactly the same – cameras usually contain mirrors, which is why Colin didn’t die.


So when the basilisk makes “eye contact” with the camera, all that lethal power gets focused at the back of the camera – the film. All that power and magic concentrated on a thin piece of plastic; frankly, the film didn’t stand a chance.



It’s also worth noting that there’s some historical precedent for the basilisk being able to damage objects that can’t technically make eye contact. Quoting from the Wikipedia entry:




Leonardo da Vinci included a basilisk in his Bestiary, saying it is so utterly cruel that when it cannot kill animals by its baleful gaze, it turns upon herbs and plants, and fixing its gaze on them withers them up.



Obviously plants and camera film are a bit different, but it shows that it’s not unheard of for the basilisk stare to be damaging even without eye contact.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - How could Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra?

I want to be very careful about how I ask this question – I am not asking How did Voldemort die? [CLOSED] Below the text is the relevant passages from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows if anyone wants to review them (I'm sorry for the amount of text). How did Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra and kill Voldemort? I feel the reason Harry's Expelliarmus overpowered Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse has to do with who was master of the Elder Wand and how the Elder Wand works. I've always had trouble understanding fully how the Elder Wand works, though. How much did the fact that Voldemort never truly won or mastered the Elder Wand factor into how Expelliarmus reacted to Avada Kedavra and caused Avada Kedavra to rebound and kill Voldemort? An answer based in book canon would be especially welcome, but any canon source really is fine. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he, too, yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco’s wand: ‘ Avada Kedavra !’ ‘ Expelliarmus !...
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more