The development of cannons was a significant part of history in wartime and surprisingly, physics. The very motion of a cannon ball is so similar to projectile motion that it isn’t too hard to figure out that there exists a connection between the two. Projectile Motion, which is a part of mechanics, is the motion of an object in a two-dimensional world. Since a cannon travels in these two dimensions, making a similar curve, they are a prime example used in applying concepts of projectile motion. To discover one of the greatest practical use of physics is to identify how physics helped develop the cannon with example, relate it to at least two factors and additionally answer to a self-created research question, “To what extent is Physics applied in developing cannons?”
Physics has had a tremendous contribution on the development of cannons. It was as early as 1646 where there are records of physics being used to improve the cannon. The most common uses of the cannons were acts of war and the first time someone applied physics to this concept was at the Siege of Worchester. Nathan Nye, author of the book, ‘The Art of Gunnery’, applied different forms of triangulation, arithmetic, and theoretical mathematics to win this battle using cannons. Naturally, he was a key figure who contributed to the development of cannons (Nye). One of first scientists to form their own theories about the motion of a cannonball was Aristotle. He believed that if a cannon were fired, the vertical motion would be constant in proportion to the weight of the object (“Aristotle vs Galileo”). He also believed that projectiles travel upward and outward in a straight line until they “run out of gas” and then fall straight down. Thi...
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...give the military advantage to their respective side. This seemingly unending search for that elusive, perfect projectile continued even after the end of the Civil War (Melton).
The development of the cannon has had a large influence on society through a variety of factors. It has evoked physics theories about motion and specifically projectile motion. It has described the factors of this motion such as the acceleration of gravity and the horizontal and vertical velocities. It has had significant economic and ethical impacts on society as discussed. These factors are related to how physics has contributed to the development of the cannon and has given a general overview of the physics behind cannons. The data gathered is sufficient enough to conclude by declaring that physics to a large extent made a contribution to the development of the cannon.
The Civil War, also called The War Between the States, was one of the bloodiest wars in American history. What made the Civil War such a massacre? The Civil War was such a bloodbath because the technological advances were so far superior to the tactics of the infantry, that the weapons virtually obliterated the soldiers. Soldiers would form lines known as a battalions. In these battalions, soldiers would basically march to their deaths. In addition to weapons doing so much damage, fortification on the battlefield was far more advanced than had ever been before. The Cheveau-de-frise was the main focus of armored fortification in the Civil War. This fortification consisted of 10 to 12 foot logs with large spiked-shaped, wooden stakes attached to the top of them. The Cheveau-de-frise would hold soldiers at bay while the opposing soldiers dismantled the battalion with cannons and rifles. Between the fortification and the weapons, humans did not have the slightest chance of survival.1
During the years leading up to and during the American Civil War there were a number of advancements in firearms technology. This paper will focus on a few of those advancements, namely the inventions of the Minié ball, the Spencer and Henry repeating rifles, and of the Gatling gun.
The purpose of the projectile lab is to test the validity of the law of conservation of energy. The application of this law to our everyday lives is a surprisingly complicated process. Conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but that it can be transferred from one form to another. Consider the projectile lab from document A that this essay is based upon. In an ideal experiment, the projectile is isolated from everything except the gravitational field. In this case, the only force acting on the particle is gravity and there are only two forms of energy that are of interest: the energy of the particle due to its motion (defined as kinetic
Morgan, James. “The Most common Field Pieces of the Civil War.” Civil War Weapons. 16 February 2002. 17 January 2010. .
The American Civil War is known to be one of the bloodiest wars in history. Significant advances in weapon technology contributed to the unprecedented carnage. All types of weapons were being invented including side arms, shoulder arms, and artillery. Surveying the origins and design of only a portion demonstrates fire power had outstripped battlefield tactics by the mid-nineteenth century.
Before beginning about the history of ball bearing or bullet ball guns, which are referred to as BB guns in short, let’s take a quick peep at some of the most interesting facts about air guns:
Also, more incent topic in history of the catapult was believed to have opened in 12th century France with the inventions of the trebuchet. This huge train of siege is stated to have hit good fear in the hearts of the opponents. The project and this pure power have hurled this example catapult history through the history.
Their principle value comes from being able to lob shells behind an obstacle such as a fort or a hill. Unlike modern mortars, those used during the Civil War were bulky devises and mounted at a fixed angle usually between 45 and 50 degrees. They were not very accurate and depended solely upon the amount of propelling powder to determine their point of impact.... ... middle of paper ...
Aristotle's book The Physics, was in existence by about 350 B.C. This book is mainly concerned with change a...
Gunpowder’s effect on the world can be exemplified through the grand changes in weapons. This can be shown through the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 by the English navy. In this sea battle, the Spanish Armada outnumbered the English navy immensely turning the odds against the English. However, the Spanish Armada still used old boarding tactics while the English used advanced weaponry. In the end, “the English used their superior firepower to whittle away the Spanish forces” (Schlager). The English navy's victory over the Spanish Armada illustrates the effects of the invention of gunpowder. With the successful usage of advanced gunpowder based weapons, the English navy crushed the opposition even when the Spanish Armada clearly had the upper hand. The defeat of the Spanish Armada shows that weapons based on gunpowder allowed countries with smaller armies to have a higher chance in winning their fights. The gunpowder weapons proved to be a tactical advant...
The definition of a projectile is an object that the only force acting on it is gravity. Projectile motion is the path the projectile takes. We saw and used this topic a few times in our project. The first time we saw it was when the marble was flew out of the pipe and was in the air. The second time we used the topic to make sure the trains fell on the lever in the correct spot so the golf ball would roll. The third time it was used, was when the board fall on the balloon. It fell as half of a parabola since it started standing up.
The system and technique of supplying an arrow with kinetic energy through the tension of limbs has been improved with the crossbow. The big catapults took up once again the principle of throwing stones. It all changed with the invention of the gunpowder. Cannons, guns and handheld weapons assumed the role of bow and arrow. Now, the warlike intention behind the long-distance effect went even more into the foreground.
In conclusion, physics is involved in all things around us. Whether in a classroom, in a car, or playing basketball physics concepts can be applied to the action. Although it is not very practical for a person to stop and calculate the angle, velocity, and position, the use of physics does make it understandable and possible. As much as the physics of basketball seems insignificant and ludicrous, to calculate the principles are in fact very valuable to a player without them even knowing they are doing physics.
Physics can be used to explain a lot of things. In this paper I described some basic concepts in physics that are relevant to basketball, particularly the three main parts of basketball, shooting, dribbling and passing. So the next time you are out shooting some hoops just think of all the physics that are being applied and you could be one step away from being a physicist, and have fun.
Projectile motion is the force that acts upon an object that is released or thrown into the air. Once the object is in the air, the object has two significant forces acting upon it at the time of release. These forces are also known as horizontal and vertical forces. These forces determine the flight path and are affected by gravity, air resistance, angle of release, speed of release, height of release and spin