The Physics of Archery

2026 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Bow and arrow projectile motion

The Physics of Archery

There are not many activities out there that relax and soothe me quite like shooting my bow. It is not as simple as it sounds though, just pulling on the string, releasing the string, and watching the arrow fly towards your target. There are a number of aspects that must be taken into consideration when trying to shoot a bow and arrow efficiently, this is where we will get into the physics of archery.

There are two main things to consider when looking at archery and the physics concepts behind it. First there is the bow, which basically is a device that uses human force over a distance and converts that into stored Mechanical Potential Energy. The second factor involves that stored Mechanical Energy being converted once again into Kinetic Energy when the string is released, almost all of that Kinetic Energy is transferred into the released arrow. Another way to look at a bow is in respect to a spring, a bow is almost like a spring that is storing energy that is to be transferred into the arrow once the string is released.

To realize the amount of force that is applied from the bow we must look at a number of ideas and concepts. For this application we will use only a Recurve bow or a Reflex bow, which basically is a long piece of wood with a rigid handle and two flexible limbs that are “recurved” away from the archer. Then those limbs are simply pulled back towards the archer by the means of a string or number of strings. There are also a number of other bow concepts we could look at, for instance the compound bow or even the crossbow. The compound bow is similar in design except that it uses cams, pulleys, and mechanical levers to produce a greater amount of stored energy with a less amount o...

... middle of paper ...

...or a smaller size of vanes.

So just as I said before, shooting a bow is much more than just simply pulling on the string, letting the string go, and watching your arrow fly towards the target. There is a lot more physics that come into play when shooting than those simple ideas stated in the previous sentence. My only advice to anyone who is interested in shooting a bow and arrow accurately and having fun at the same time would be to practice, practice, practice, and practice! Good luck, be careful, and have fun.

Works Cited:

Easton, Larry, Basic Concepts of Archery, 1999

Kirkpatrick, Larry; Wheeler, Gerald, Physics A World View, fourth edition. 2001

Ratcliff, Perry; Archers Advantage, 1999 http://www.archersadvantage.com

Rees, Gareth, Stortford Archery Club, The Physics of Medieval Archery, 1995 http://www.stortford-archers.org.uk/medieval.com

Show More
Related

  • Comparing James Dickey's Deliverance and Fog envelops the Animals

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    He concentrates on getting as close as possible without being noticed. Ed then decides he is ready as he will ever be. Yet, the moment he shoots his arrow he feels that he jerks upward. He immediately realizes that he is going to miss. Indeed, he does miss the shot, yet he wastes another arrow, knowing the second shot is pointless for the deer is now running.

    Read More

  • Physics of Paintball

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are three main areas of paintball that I will be analyzing. First the way in which a paintball leaves the barrel of a paintball marker. Second the way in which a paintball fly's through the air and lastly how to determine optimum ranges for paintballs.

    Read More

  • The Longbow's Influcence on English Military

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    The longbow was very crucial to the English military. In this paper I will tell people about the English longbow and how dominant it was it their military. One will be surprised by the dominance of the longbow. I will tell one about wars, power, and draw a weight.

    Read More

  • How to Shoot a Hockey Puck

    621 Words  | 2 Pages

    Once you learn to proficiently skate the next skill is learning how to shoot a hockey puck. These two skills are essential in playing hockey and enjoying the game. Learning to shoot a hockey puck effectively is essential to making goals in hockey. Once you learn the skill of shooting then practice, practice, practice and you could develop into the goalies worst nightmare. There are many diverse shots that can be made during the course of a hockey game. We will be focusing on the “snap shot” and the “slap shot”. Here are the basics of shooting a snap shot.

    Read More

  • Zen in the Art of Archery

    870 Words  | 2 Pages

    Zen in the Art of Archery, by Eugen Herrigel describes the ritualistic arts of discipline and focus that the Zen religion focuses around. In this book, Herrigel describes many aspects of how archery is, in fact, not a sport, but an art form, and is very spiritual to those in the east. The process he describes shows how he overcame his initial inhibitions and began to look toward new ways of seeing and understanding. In the beginning of the book Herrigel tells us that he is writing about a ritual and religious practice, “whose aim consists in hitting a spiritual goal, so that fundamentally the marksman aims at himself and may even succeed in hitting himself.” (Herrigel p. 4) Through his studies, the author discovers that within the Zen ritual actions, archery in this case, there lies a deeper meaning. Herrigel explains throughout this book that it is not through the actual physical aspect of shooting arrows at targets that archery is Zen, but through the art and spirituality through which it is performed. It is not merely shooting an arrow to hit a target, but becoming the target yourself and then, in turn, hitting yourself spiritually. By meeting this spiritual goal, you will then meet the physical goal. The struggle then is, therefore not with the arrow or the target but within oneself.

    Read More

  • Physics of Baseball

    1477 Words  | 3 Pages

    Baseball is a fascinating sport that is exceptionally fun to play. This assignment is all about understanding the physics of a few key aspects of this sport. One might ask what physics could have to do with baseball? Like most sports baseball involves physical motion. Baseball encompasses all three planes of motion through throwing, hitting, and fielding. All of the classical laws of mechanics can be applied to understand the physics of this game.

    Read More

  • Understanding Compound Hunting Bows and Bowhunting

    572 Words  | 2 Pages

    Most bow hunters are pretty sensible about their sport and do not want to see an

    Read More

  • The Basics of Lacrosse

    1724 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shooting is a fundamental part of the game lacrosse. It’s important to learn the different styles, techniques, and tactics of shooting to improve your game. Positioning your body is important. Make sure your elbows are facing the goal when you shoot the ball. If you are throwing with your right hand, use proper shooting technique and step with your left foot first. If you're a lefty, than step with your right foot. Position your hands in a way that feels strong. You should have one hand on the very bottom and the other a few inches above. Choose a spot that fits the feel that you want. Make sure you feel strong about the position. It will help you make the perfect shot. When you aim to shoot, look at your target. You should see all the four corners of the net and away from the goalkeeper. If you've noticed that the goalie has a weaker side, shoot for that side of the net. This will most likely give you a better chance at scoring. Once you step and aim, follow through. A strong follow through is what will add the speed and power you will need.

    Read More

  • My First Time Bow Hunting for Elk

    920 Words  | 2 Pages

    I kept practicing I knew all I had to do was get an elk within 40 yards and it was mine, no problem. As summer progressed I knew I was getting to be a pretty good shot. I was able to hit something about the size of a tennis ball at 40 yards every shot.

    Read More

  • The failure from the "war on drugs"

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    As this paper had explored, US drug prohibition, from its inception, followed by the “war on drugs”, have failed. The repressive strategies found within the drug wars not only are not able to handle the inherently complex nature of the international drug trade, but it, as history has shown, has exasperated the problem. At the national level, the “war on drugs” effects was just as ineffective and detrimental to society with heavy mandatory minimum prison sentences and the world's highest imprisonment rate. In this regards, the drug war was a failure; however, in some other respect, it is a success. It is a success in that drug laws disproportionately affected minorities, especially the black community; moreover, it exclusively targets the lower rungs of society. As this paper has examined, the “war on drugs” is a proxy genocide of the lower class.

    Read More

  • Decriminalization of Drugs

    1331 Words  | 3 Pages

    For many years, a real push has been looming on the idea of legalizing now illegal drugs. This has become a hot debate throughout nations all over the world, from all walks of life. The dispute over the idea of decriminalizing illegal drugs is and will continue on as an ongoing conflict. In 2001, Drug decriminalization in all drugs, including cocaine and heroin, became a nationwide law in Portugal (Greenwald). Ethan Nadelman, essayist of “Think again: Drugs,” states his side of the story on the continuing criminalization of hard drugs, in which he stand to oppose. Whether it is for the good of human rights or not, decriminalizing drugs may be a good head start for a new beginning.

    Read More

  • Against the War On Drugs in America

    3560 Words  | 8 Pages

    These are the two lines of reasoning I will take to argue against drug prohibition in this paper. After giving a brief history of prohibition, I will show that it is wrong in principal and that there is no moral basis for this policy. I will then show that, regardless of moral considerations, prohibition has not and probably cannot work, and more specifically that the "war on drugs" has been a disaster which should be ended immediately. I will then conclude by discussing possible consequences of legalization.

    Read More

  • The Physics of Basketball

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    When you play the game of basketball, you are not aware of at the time some of the physics that are going on all around you. For example, you have all the players using force to accelerate and go to top speed. You have the jump shot which uses vertical and horizontal forces. The spin of the ball affects its place once it hits the rim or the backboard. Dribbling comes into major play because of all the different types of forces and actions going on around it.

    Read More

  • Essay On Projectile Motion

    1845 Words  | 4 Pages

    In this assessment of the projectile motion of an object, I found that it can be applied to many useful situations in our daily lives. There are many different equations and theorems to apply to an object in motion to either find the path of motion, the displacement, velocity, acceleration, and time of the object in the air.

    Read More

  • Legalization Of Drugs Essay

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    Drug issue has always been a big issue troubling the whole world and the governments of all countries rack their brains to control drugs. In the past, people definitely held positive attitudes and thought the government should vigorously prohibit drugs and strictly crack down drug-related crimes. But the government’s prohibition of drugs turns out contrary to our expectation that drugs are more abused and the crimes following it also increase year by year. Therefore, people questioned the drug control of the government. “Legalize drugs-all of them” by Baird Vanessa. The author of this article discussed the policies of each country on drugs and the constantly increasing propositions which support the legalization of drugs. In the end of the article, the author also appealed to the American government to promote the legalization of drugs. However, I don’t support the author’s opinion. As far as I am concerned, once drugs are legalized, they will certainly do more harm to the society and the number of drug users will also greatly increase; the legalization of drugs probably can reduce some crimes, but it is not the best way to reduce crime rate; although the legalization of drugs can save the government’s spending on investigating drug smuggling and taxation can also increase the government's incomes, they are far less than the losses brought by the increase of drug users to the society; the legalization of drugs makes the morality of human face severe challenges.

    Read More

More about The Physics of Archery

Open Document