Medieval Projectile Launchers

The Physics and Components of Medieval Projectile Launchers Before the age of cannons, gunpowder, and modern warfare, projectiles were fired using machines generally identified as catapults. Civilizations in the middle ages were the ones to use the catapult the most, utilizing basic laws of physics to hit their target. We will look at different designs in catapults and how they function. Even today, launching projectiles is a lesson in physics. Catapults are no exception. From the great minds of Greece and Rome, we have acquired the concepts that launching a projectile utilizes. These principles are traction, tension, torsion, and gravity. Traction, often coming to play with friction, is how an object slides across a surface. In modern times,
Catapults are constructed with many mechanical components. In addition, they use a variety of mathematics to calculate their range, accuracy and precision. A catapult, ballista, trebuchet, mangonel, springald, or onager may contain a lever, sling and a pivot. As pioneers in science, the Greeks invented many of the mechanical principles used in modern science today. In fact, they had a god dedicated to machines and technology. One of the most profound Greeks was Archimedes. One of his inventions was the lever. A lever is used to move large, heavy objects. His invention revolutionized science. The lever defined Archimedes, to the point where his most famous quote is dedicated to it- “Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth.” Where a lever can lift, it can also throw. A trebuchet, combined with a dense counterweight on one end, can slam a lever down with enough force to launch the payload. The larger the lever, and the heavier the weight, the faster and farther the projectile will fly. A lever may also be held down by rope, allowing it to snap up when the rope is removed. If there is no counter weight, and tension is apart of the energy, a pivot may be used instead of a lever. The throwing arm would rotate on an axis that is wound up with rope. The pivot allows the arm to move freely, unless it is being held down and ready to spring. When the restraint is removed, the arm will rotate rapidly on its pivot until it is at the right angle. However, a throwing arm is useless without a means of holding the object it wishes to throw. That is where a sling comes in. Similar to how your hand grips a ball or a rock, the sling will hold your projectile as it travels and accelerates, until it is released at the proper angle. A sling is usually made of a type of fabric. This is the case in many bow-like machines, such as ballistas and springalds. Other means of holding the projectile is in a bowl-shaped socket on the arm itself. That