Trebuchet Essay

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What is a trebuchet? The question isn’t a common one, especially in today’s day-and-age due to the fact a trebuchet in the simplest of terms was a weapon used in medieval times. Many could compare it to a catapult , but the trebuchet can shoot a projectile a further distance and is far more accurate. Although the trebuchet is most commonly associated and used during the medieval times, the trebuchet’s original and most archetypical uses can be traced back to the fourth century B.C in China. China created the original trebuchet “to help with military strength and strategy” (Marsden, 2013, para. 2). Although China originated the trebuchet, it soon was adopted in other countries and made its way to Europe around five-hundred A.D. where it was mainly used by the French. This weapon was changing to become bigger, better ,and stronger constantly. For example, the archetype of the trebuchet had a group of pulling men that pulled a rope which fired the projectile. This later changed to a counterweight . Although the design of the trebuchet was changing on a constant basis, even the original itself was well-advanced for the time, pushing technology a step further. This new technology held great potential and was …show more content…

There is a throwing arm, a base, a sling, a counterweight, a pin and trigger, and the projectile itself. The throwing arm is what swings the sling (the contraption used to hold the projectile). The base is there primarily for foundational support and to hold everything up and together. When one pulls the pin from the trigger, it allows the counterweight (which replaced the pulling men for the traction trebuchet), which is commonly lead, to fall due to gravity. The falling counterweight is what sends the projectile flying through the air. “When the counter-weight falls, its gravitational potential energy is changed to kinetic energy in the moving projectile” (Campbell,

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