Catapults Research Paper

In science class, our teacher has told us to do a research paper about the physics of projectiles involved in catapults. In an article about the physics of projectiles, I read that some models of catapults involve crossbars. Crossbars are bars that run horizontally between two vertical posts. I also read that if you control the length the arm can move it impacts when the projectile is unleashed and therefore the launch angle. A catapult depends on torque? And I found out that torque means the moment of force is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist to an object.

So I believe that’s whats going to allow a catapult to throw the object that’s in the torque. After

On page 88-93 it talks about how catapults were used back in ancient times and also different types of catapults and how they are used. The first one they talk about is called a Roman ballista, to load the ballista the slider was pushed forward until the trigger engaged the string, and then the slider was wound back by the lever. Some of the Greek catapults they built an arrow- firing catapult that looked like a giant crossbow. To pull back the bowstring, the firing team used a built-in winch that wound back a claw and trigger mechanism together with a grooved slider that was held in place by a ratchet. Later on, the Greeks even made a repeating version of the catapult called a polybolos, which fired one arrow after another from a hopper or magazine that was mounted above the slider. A catapult that caught my attention was called the onager, in a slingshot, a leather pouch at the end of a pair of strings holds a stone. When the arm was released, it sprang forward and hurled the stone. A large straw filled cushion absorbed the shock of the arm at the end of its swing after the missile left the