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Catapultas
"Dionysius’ engineers also devised the first catapults."
-Werner Soedel and Vernard Foley
Three Types
The first known catapult was called the Ballista. The Ballista was like a giant crossbow. Ballista comes from the Greek word "Ballistes" which means to throw. It originated from the Greeks and was modified by the Romans. The Ballista would have two wooden arms that were built like an arrow. The middle part of the Ballista would be cut out to have an arrow to release. Human hair, hide that was turned into rope was used to release the arrow.
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Mangonel was made during 400 BC by the Romans. Manganon comes from the latin word that means engine of war. The Mangonel has long wooden arms with a bucket or basket to hold stones, rocks or bricks, and a rope is at the end to release the stones, rocks or bricks. When the load is released it contacts a beam and returns back its original position.
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The final catapult that was made is called the Trebuchet. The Trebuchet was made by the Chinese in 300 BC. It was built to do a lot of damage with the greatest amount of force that can be created. The Trebuchet has a long arm to release a load for long distance. On the other side there would be weight to help throw the rocks, stones and other objects that were used. Again a rope was used to release the load.
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One Way to Win…..One Way to Not Win…...
The pros of having a catapult is being able to shoot at your enemies from long distance. Having that distance in battle is very important. Over time many different catapults were added to create a better distance. Another pro is having the capitulate to take down buildings from a distance. Having the distance, will help to no have a lot of loses during battle.
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The cons of having a catapult is not having the right aim or distance for the target. If the distance is too long the object that will be thrown won't go that far. Having the right aim could mean life or death in battle.
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History
Catapults were introduced in 399 B.C. by Dionysius the Elder. He was trying to prepare his city for war with Carthage and wanted to develop a program that would help win the war. The program was aimed to create a weapon that would lessen the time it would take to fire at an enemy and the soldiers that would be used. Dionysius engineers built the first catapult.
Later on in history Catapults were used to fire arrows, stones, rocks, rocks on fire and many other items. When looking at a Catapult math and science is involved. The torsion principle plays an important role because to helps to understand the balancing of each catapult. Meaning how much the catapult can handle when released and how far it will travel.
Later on in history Catapults were used to fire arrows, stones, rocks, rocks on fire and many other items. When looking at a Catapult math and science is involved. The torsion principle plays an important role because to helps to understand the balancing of each catapult. Meaning how much the catapult can handle when released and how far it will travel.
Sources
"Ancient Catapults". Information about Ancient Catapults. Web. Dec 8. 2014. Retrieved from http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/war/Catapults.htm
"Ancient Catapults". Information about Ancient Catapults. Web. Dec 8. 2014. Retrieved from http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/war/Catapults.htm