In none of the places where the Melbourne Telescope was mentioned, did I find anything about the functionality of this mesh. Such a construction can only make sense if working with wave objects. Light, of course, is also a wave, but telescopes use ONLY the laws of geometric optics, where the wave properties of light are ignored.
So, we have a magical fire that consumes and destroys stones with bricks. Fortunately, this is not its only unique property. In order not to get bored, during the genocide of buildings, it amused itself by, sometimes diligently, bypassing trees, in some cases even leaving the foliage intact.
And the substance that was banned is mercury. It was impossible to seize it all en masse, because it was also used in other places, without which even those who started the whole carnival could not get by. But it was surrounded by such vigorous propaganda that no one in their right mind would touch it now.