Catapulting though Time & Physics Essay example -- Essays Papers

Catapulting though Time & PhysicsHurling an object towards ones oppositeness may seem as aged as clock itself. People have hurled fists at each other, thrown spears, and launched giant rocks into enemy territory. The use of catapults, and other objects that hurl arugulas, also seem as old as human civilization itself. The effectiveness of the catapult in flinging objects over a great distance and causing destruction is due to a few basic physics principals that govern force, energy, motion, speed and mass to elevate a few. The design of the catapult denotes a change in red-brick warfare to the engineer behind weapons being just as Copernican as the actual soldiers and people who use them. Projectile-throwing machines are found in three main categories the catapult, the ballista, and the trebuchet (How Stuff Works). The catapult has a open up arm attached to a bucket that is normally pulled lynchpin by rope and the projectile is released when the rope is cut (How Stuff Work s). The ballista is fundamentally a giant crossbow and the trebuchet is similar to the catapult but is a weighted beam with a sling carrying the projectile (How Stuff Works). In this examination, we will mainly be discussing the design of the catapult and trebuchet. Catapults have been traced back to many different civilizations throughout history, but its modern origins are usually attributed to the Greeks and the ancient scientist Archimedes who designed them (Paul 58). We know that in 339 A.D. Dionysius ordered their design in Syracus (Hansen), but their history goes back even further. The first recorded interpretation of the catapult found in the Bible 2,800 years ago (Paul 58). whizz passage gives the following description of a ruler of the kingdom of Judah And i... ...nd projectile motion among others. Even though the catapult and its physics are ancient, it has changed the mode warfare is waged in the present. Works Cited Hansen, Peter V. War Engines of the Middle Ages. The chivalrous Center Seige Engines. 1998. 2 Nov. 2005 <http//www.middelaldercentret.dk/warengines.htm. Hewitt, Paul G. Conceptual Physics tenth Edition. 10th ed. San Francisco Pearson Addison Wesley, 2006. How Does a Catapult Work? How Stuff Works. 2 Nov. 2005 <http//science.howstuffworks.com/question127.htm. Mechanics of a Simple Trebuchet. 2 Nov. 2005 <http//www.angelfire.com/in3/trebuchet/physics/mechanicsandoptimization.doc. Paul, Jim. Catapult Harry and I Build a Seige Weapon. New York Villard Books, 1991. 54-62. Vogel, Steven. Cats Paws and Catapults. New York, London W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1998.