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History of catapult The history of catapult spans far from ancient time, until modern times with the basic principles remained the same. the designs became more complicated, but the intent is the same (shooting an object, such as rocks, into the air). The catapult history started when men thought of the idea of shooting a missile at a target. And then it became more advanced. For example the theory of the sling shot operated the same. For using in siege warfare, people believe that catapult history began probably in the 300s AD. These engineers that were working for Phillip of Macedonia are trusted with building the first ballista. These model of catapult are used with two wooden arms, hard wound ropes and a cord to assist in the hurling of a deadly rocket, such as spears, at an enemy. The ballista’s use of torsion need to launch …show more content…
This model was kind of the same design to the Greek version, but made with only one wooden arm. The mangonel, somehow, had some design flaw in that is called for a wooden barrier to be a concept. It is place in catapult history is nonetheless well documented as this model was still used when the trebuchet arrived on the scene. Unlike it is earlier Greek brother. The mongonel is counted as a easier design in history of catapult. Also, more incent topic in history of the catapult was believed to have opened in 12th century France with the inventions of the trebuchet. This huge train of siege is stated to have hit good fear in the hearts of the opponents. The project and this pure power have hurled this example catapult history through the history. The trebuchet is used with a long wooden arm refreshed on a hinge point, which acted as a big level. A bullet was placed on one end and soldiers in this earlier form of the trebuchet pushed on slings devoted to the other end to fundamentals swing the arm around and throw the
Earlier models just used a large weight on one end of a pivoting arm. The arm was pulled back the missile was placed and then let go.
First the energy of conservation. The setting of the trebuchet before firing is shown in Fig 1. A heavy counterweight of mass (M) (contained in a large bucket) on the end of the short arm of a sturdy beam was raised to some height while a smaller mass (m) (the projectile), was positioned on the end of the longer arm near or on the ground. In practice the projectile was usually placed in a leather sling attached to the end of the longer arm. However for simplicity, we shall ignore the sling and compensate for this omission by increasing the assumed length of the beam on the projectile’s side. The counterweight was then allowed to fall so that the longer arm swung upward, the sling following, and the projectile was ultimately thrown from its container at some point near the top of the arc. The far end of the sling was attached to the arm by a rope in such a way that the release occurred at a launching angle near the optimum value ( most likely by repeated trials) for the launch height. The launching position is shown in fig.2 where we have assumed that the projectile is released at the moment the entire beam is vertical. In the figures: (a)=height of the pivot, (b)= length of the short arm, (c)= length of the long arm, while (v) and (V) are the velocities of (m) and (M), respectively, at the moment of launching.
Another type of catapult is the Onager. Onagers were used right up to the middle ages with the Trebuchet, when gunpowder and the Cannon were invented and eventually replaced the catapults.
For almost as long as civilizations began they have been fighting against each other. Often times these wars come down to who has the better military equipment. When one army creates an elite war machine another army is sure to soon copy or improve it. For example the U.S. Army Signal Corps purchased the first ever military aircraft in 1902 (Taylor). Two years later the Italians were also using aircrafts. The trebuchet catapult is no exception; it was one of the most destructive military machines of its time (Chevedden, 2000). A trebuchet works by using the energy of a falling counterweight to launch a projectile (Trebuchet). In this research paper I intend to explain the history and dynamics of a trebuchet catapult.
Before the days of gunpowder, the military used large timber machines to hurl rocks, arrows and flaming barrels of tar at and into castles and forts. In ancient times, in order to prevent attacks from invaders, forts and castles are built for protection. These castles and forts had very strong walls and were sometimes placed high on top of a hill or such. Therefore, people within the military often build machines and structures to aid in attacking castles. These machines were called catapults, which didn’t use explosives like today’s military weapons, instead they used energy which was stored in bent timber and sinew, twisted ropes or heavy weights. A catapult is a machine that initially stores energy and then releases energy in order to fire a projectile. In simple terms, it is a device that is used to hurl an object to a further distance. In order to be classified as a catapult, the machine generally has to be larger than an average person, which logically makes it difficult for the said person to carry. The first catapults were early
Crossbows are a highly effective weapon for hunting and war even in today's standards. The first records of crossbows are from China in the 6th century BC. The knowledge then spreads slowly to the west into Europe during the time of the Roman Empire, the greatest empire of all times. The crossbow remained the favored weapon of war and hunting in Rome until the 15th century when gunpowder was also introduced from China.
These first trebuchets built in China were very difficult to operate and used a lot of human power, they were called traction trebuchet. The Chinese would need over 250 soldiers to be able to produce enough energy to pull the rope. There was engineers that sat at the front and loaded the throwing arm. They were able to put more power into the weapon, the trebuchet by adding different weight as the soldiers would release the rope. It was able to throw big rocks around 100 meters, however it was not consistent or accurate. Later they added a counterweight and this was a big advancement in the technology. It is much easier to pull back a huge rope to work the machine. Then they had more room to make the sling longer so the object being launched could go farther. The sling makes the weapon even more accurate and precise. The hinged counterweight took over the fixed counterweight. One of the last improvements was called the propped counterweight it gave an angle with the weight and the
middle of paper ... ... This seemingly unending search for that elusive, perfect projectile continued even after the end of the Civil War (Melton). The development of the cannon has had a large influence on society through a variety of factors. It has evoked physics theories about motion and specifically projectile motion.
“Volley Guns” (Chivers, 2010, p.26) or also known as “Organ Guns” (Ellis, 1975, p.10) were first attempts at increasing firepower by adding several barrels at the firing itself, rather than simply attempting to increase the rate of fire. “Gunsmiths had long ago learned to place barrels side by side on frames to create firearms capable of discharging projectiles in rapid succession. These unwieldy devices, or volley guns, were capable in theory of blasting a hole in a line of advancing soldiers” (Chivers, 2010, p.26). An example of such weapons can be seen on July 28, 1835 when Giuseppe Fieshi unleashed terror on King Louis-Phillipe in Paris, France. He fired his 25 barrel “volley gun”, killing 18 of the king's entourage and grazing the King's skull. The weapon was ineffective however. Four of the barrels failed and another four ruptured. Two other barrels had exploded inside, grievously wounding Giuseppe. (Chivers, 2010, p. 27)
Ancient Greece was at the forefront of military technology innovation during its time, and led the rest of the world in military advancements. From the fast and efficient triremes of Athens to the catapults of Sicilian Greeks to the massive siege engines of Alexander the Great, the Greeks were very creative in inventing advanced military technology.1 They did not merely create advanced versions of existing technology; they invented new weapons altogether. There is some debate over the origin of the catapult but most historians agree that it was invented in Greece. 1 Additionally, the triremes of Greece were considered the superlative warships of the age. 1 These super-galleys were products of masterful ancient-world engineering, and even today we are puzzled as to how such large hulls supported ships when they were made entirely of wood with no metal bands. One of these famous
It started to be used as an explosive, in 1902, by the Germans. It was difficult to detonate, but the Germans exploited it. They filled artillery shells, which can pierce through ship armor. Then, they shot at the boats. When it pierced through the boat, it exploded, thus exploiting the sciences of TNT. After they found this being effective, they began filling naval mines, bombs, depth charges and torpedoes with TNT and it has been really effective since it is used
A catapult can be best described as a structure that uses various concepts of physics in order to launch an object across a given area in a projectile motion. Catapults eliminate the use of any explosives that accelerate the object into motion, like bullets from a gun, or cannons. The concept of catapults have been in existence since medieval times, and were extremely important during wartime. The catapult, first came into existence in Greece, which the Romans quickly learnt of. The two most common types of catapults used during ancient wartime were the doubled armed machine, more commonly known as the ballista for shooting arrows, and the single-armed catapult for the larger objects. In an article named “Stone-Hurling Catapult,
Since the dawn of human intelligence, neanderthals have been using sticks and spears to kill animals. This method eventually transformed to the creation of catapults to launch objects such as boulders into walls, which similarly relates to our objective of launching a projectile into a desired target. The five different kinds of medieval catapults include ballista, springald, mangonel, onager, and trebuchet. Our catapult is going to be in
Essentially the plan for the catapult would have been the same. Measurements for the catapult are the same just in wood. So for lumber I would have gone with an eight foot long of 1.5in x 1.5in would have saved a cent over PVC. For my swing arm I would needed something thinner to be able to swing more freely. I went with a foot and a half of 1-in x 2-in which out of an 8 foot long log that cost ninety six cents priced out to be sixteen cents. Since I didn’t need elbows for wood and elbows were the most expensive material out of the PVC catapult. Instead I’d use screws to hold the corners together. I estimated that I needed twenty screws, so two screws in every corner to make it more secure. This like the elbows ran up to be three dollars in
The Mangonel is the catapult we built and used. The mangonel was built/invented in 400 BC. The Romans were the ones that ended up inventing this Mangonel Catapult design. These catapults were used by the Romans obviously, and they were used for battles because they could reach up to 1,300ft back then. The catapult that my group and I built has a rectangular base. On one end of the rectangle we have boards that stand straight up. These two boards that are standing up has a block, and we have a arm that you pull back that has bunge cords from the rectangle frame to the arm, and you pull back then let go of the arm and the arm swings the object. Back then the objects would have been rocks and thing like this for the Romans to hurt or kill the enemy. Now no one exactly knows where specifically the Romans built it, but it could have been in Europe, Britain, much of western Asia, northern Africa and the Mediterranean islands. ("History of Catapults - Physics of Catapults." History of Catapults - Physics of Catapults. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.)