Newspaper clipping about Auckland inventor Victor Penny from the Auckland Star, 19 March 1936 Photo: Papers Past
In 1935, a series of extraordinary newspaper articles claimed a backyard inventor called Victor Penny was trying to build a death ray for the New Zealand government.
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Welcome to the summer science series from Our Changing World. We're kicking off the holiday season with a science-themed episode from award-winning history podcast Black Sheep.
Victor Penny was a self-taught engineer and inventor who worked with early radio technology – and at a secret government laboratory on Matiu/Somes Island.
Listen to find out the truth – and the science – behind the sensational 'death ray' headlines.
Learn more:
- Hear the story of the first radio broadcast in New Zealand in 100 years of radio and the spectrum of light.
- Listen to more Black Sheep episodes.
