CATAPULT RESEARCH & INQUIRY ESSAY
Catapult Research & Inquiry Essay
Many different civilizations from around the world used catapults, well before the time of the Romans and the Greeks who are more commonly associated with the invention of the catapult. For centuries it was used as a siege weapon in battles to destroy castle and city walls by shooting a heavy projectile, without the aid of explosives. The word catapult comes from the Greek word kata 'against' and pallein 'to hurl’. The earliest evidence of catapults in a civilization originated in China around the 3rd and 4th century. The first catapult flung in Europe was around the same time in the 4th century. Throughout history there have been multiples types of catapults, some more like crossbows and others more like canons. The main types are the trebuchet, the mangonel, the onager, and the ballista.
The trebuchet catapult is the most accurate and consistent type of catapult. It uses a beam as a lever, to increase mechanical advantage. This lever has a sling on the end holding the projectile, and a counterweight on the other end that is heavier than the projectile load, to make it fall faster when released and launch the projectile. This catapult has the most consistent design, because it is easy to manipulate the physics of the mechanical advantage. The aim is always the same as it stays on a sturdy lever, however the distance and height it can go can be adjusted by making the counterweight heavier or lighter.
The trebuchet catapult is the most accurate and consistent type of catapult. It uses a beam as a lever, to increase mechanical advantage. This lever has a sling on the end holding the projectile, and a counterweight on the other end that is heavier than the projectile load, to make it fall faster when released and launch the projectile. This catapult has the most consistent design, because it is easy to manipulate the physics of the mechanical advantage. The aim is always the same as it stays on a sturdy lever, however the distance and height it can go can be adjusted by making the counterweight heavier or lighter.
Sources
http://www.stormthecastle.com/catapult/the-history-of-the-catapult.htm
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/egyptscience/a/062311-Catapult.htm
http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Catapult.html
http://www.livescience.com/1931-catapults-invented-theory-explained.html
http://autocww.colorado.edu/~flc/E64ContentFiles/MilitaryWeapons/Catapult.html ?
http://www.real-world-physics-problems.com/catapult-physics.html
http://www.stormthecastle.com/catapult/the-history-of-the-catapult.htm
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/egyptscience/a/062311-Catapult.htm
http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Catapult.html
http://www.livescience.com/1931-catapults-invented-theory-explained.html
http://autocww.colorado.edu/~flc/E64ContentFiles/MilitaryWeapons/Catapult.html ?
http://www.real-world-physics-problems.com/catapult-physics.html