"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." A. C. Clarke (Clarke). Throughout history, people have relied on technology to aid them. Technology has played an important role throughout time as a tool that has allowed people to achieve accomplishments never before possible. Technology has been crucial to survival as it has been used in warfare. Technology was used for both offensive and defense systems during times of siege, and could determine the fate of entire empires. Siege engines were some of the most important technological advancements of their time and could drastically sway outcomes of battles. Of the siege engines, the trebuchet played a very influential role in history for nearly two thousand years, from about the fifth century B.C.E through the fifteenth century C.E.
Seige engines are mechanical devices designed to launch projectiles at a target. The target was generally a castle or a fortress where people were protected from most other weapons. The main material comprising seige engines was wood. Seige engines were either constructed and wheeled to the battle site by the army or they were built on site. (Wernard and Foley)
The trebuchet has a fascinating history. It was originally invented in China in the
fifth century B.C.E., and was called "xuan feng," or the whirlwind (Chevedden, Eigenbrod, Foley, and Soedel). As a revolutionary and superior siege machine, it spread quickly throughout Asia as armies adopted its unique design (Gurstelle 18). This new siege engine allowed the Islamic Empire to rapidly expand as enemy's castles fell to the power of "xuan feng." Later the Mongols adopted it design. They too used "xuan feng" to launch boulders that would put their enemies...
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... deadlier more accurate weapons. Another technology was the telegraph which drastically increased communication leading to eventually leading to phones.
Before the days of gunpowder, the military used large timber machines to hurl rocks, arrows and flaming barrels of tar at and into castles and forts. In ancient times, in order to prevent attacks from invaders, forts and castles are built for protection. These castles and forts had very strong walls and were sometimes placed high on top of a hill or such. Therefore, people within the military often build machines and structures to aid in attacking castles. These machines were called catapults, which didn’t use explosives like today’s military weapons, instead they used energy which was stored in bent timber and sinew, twisted ropes or heavy weights. A catapult is a machine that initially stores energy and then releases energy in order to fire a projectile. In simple terms, it is a device that is used to hurl an object to a further distance. In order to be classified as a catapult, the machine generally has to be larger than an average person, which logically makes it difficult for the said person to carry. The first catapults were early
World War Warfare was one of the greatest examples of technological advancement and strategic challenge, with the introduction of inventions such as the aircraft and the tank the battlefield transformed from attrition as scene in the early years of the war to decisive by the end of the war.
The China’s Great Wall is one of the most spectacular and lasting structural feat ever conceived by the human mind. It is considered as the monument to the Chinese civilization constructed at extreme costs and under myriad sacrifices including loss of lives from hard labor for a worthy cause. The Great Wall, which is translated in Chinese as Chang Cheng was originally constructed to provide protection to the Chinese farmers from the marauding nomadic raiders who raided villages for food. The topics that follows attempt to elaborate the history of the Great Wall; the motives behind its construction; the design, materials, methods as well as the processes and labor that were applied in its construction.
...eaponry and sophisticated machines, this total could have been reduce by nearly half and showed how destructive these weapons were. Technology in World War I laid a foundation for even more powerful and deadly weapons such as the nuclear bomb. Technology made war even more bloody and destructive then it already was.
...nd projectile motion among others. Even though the catapult and its physics are ancient, it has changed the way warfare is waged in the present.
The invention of gunpowder found its way into the artillery cannons in the fourteenth century, but this job was very dangerous because of the unpredictable reaction of the fired explosives. The early production of gunpowder was hampered by the cannon’s slow rate of fire, inability to travel swiftly, lack of aiming capability, and confusion on the mixture. The barrels were one to three inches in diameter and some were even mounted on the bottom of carriages. The development of gunpowder is momentous in history, because it marks the invention of modern warfare.
The invention of the powerful artillery guns would change man’s role in warring engagements. The artillery guns at first were very limited by their own design. The guns were very heavy and had to be transported by water, which meant that only towns and fortresses that were close to a body of water could be attacked with artillery also known as the cannon. There were also some fortresses that were impervious to the early cannon attacks based on strong designs or natural defenses. The French were able to penetrate the round shaped castles and large walls during the late 1400s by using concentrated fire of several small guns instead of a few large ones.
Weapons, some say they are what win battles. Technology has become very developed over the years and with the advancement of technology, come many new weapons. From World War I to World War II many accelerated weapons where developed.
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.
“The trebuchet reached the Mediterranean by the sixth century C.E. It displaced other forms of artillery and held its own until well after the coming of gunpowder. The trebuchet was instrumental in the rapid expansion of both the Islamic and the Mongol empires. It also played a part in the transmission of the Black Death, the epidemic of plague that swept Eurasia and the North Africa during the 14th century. Along the way it seems to have influenced both the development of clockwork and the theoretical analyzes of motion”2.
Today we can look around ourselves and see thousands of technical innovations that make life easier; But if we take a step back and ask ourselves “How?” we will soon realize that most often, these technological advancements did not just “poof” into existence, but are usually the outcome of building upon yesterday’s technology. If we follow this cycle back into time, we can attribute almost any modern day invention to an ancient civilization during its golden age. China was no exception. China’s Song and Tang dynasties fostered scientific advances comparable to Rome’s during its Pax Romana. The most significant and impacting of these were the development of primitive gunpowder and porcelain of the Tang and paper money, and the magnetic compass of the Song Dynasties. Although these may seem very far off, if you look hard enough, you can see traces of their impacts in society today because most of the advancements today we owe to them.
One thing that I looked at for inspiration for my project was the not only the technology produce in recent memory, I also looked at the innovations of one of the greatest empires to have ever existed –the Roman Empire-. I took heavy influenc...
When watching the film, Star Wars, it is impossible not to be aware of the technology that is represented in the film, partly because it is so much more advanced than our own is now, but also because we can imagine how we might someday acquire such technology. The central theme in Star Wars is good versus evil, clearly demonstrated by the technology in the film. While the Rebels (the good guys) use technology primarily to fight for freedom and quality of life for all, the Empire (the bad guys) use technology to develop weapons of destruction and war in an attempt to rule the galaxy. In addition to these two opposing sides, there is another group that doesn’t use technology for war. This group gets technology as it filters down from the other two groups at war. Consequently, in the film technology is used for good, for bad, and for everyday use. This mirrors our own society in many ways, and therefore, Star Wars is a great artifact to study to get a better understanding of our own technological advancements. In this report, we focus specifically on how the Empire, the Rebels, and the Non-Warring people of the film acquired, developed, and used technology and how that relates to our society today.
“Known in Europe as “Hell’s Horsemen,” Mongols could ride up to 80 miles a day, across deserts and mountains considered—until the arrival of these mounted armies—to be impassable.” (American Museum of Natural History) Their mounted troops on the battlefield gave them a distinct advantage, and was one of the leading factors in their military victories.Mongolian cavalrymen were able to outmaneuver, flank, and overwhelm their enemy. The Mongol warriors also utilized a compound shortbow, which allowed them to avoid heavy casualties by its ability to accurately shoot an arrow from a distance of 200 feet. This new convention changed warfare entirely and aided greatly to the expansion of the empire along with Genghis Khan’s military strategy. “Genghis Khan recognized that warfare was not a sporting contest… Victory did not come to the one who played by the rules; it came to the one who made the rules and imposed them on his enemy.”(Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern