Trebuchet Physics Essay

1063 Words5 Pages
Three, two, one, fire! This is the command you would have heard right before the hit of rocks, stones, or even dead animal meat which left holes in crumbling castle walls in medieval times. The source of the projectile, and one of the most feared weapons of medieval times was a trebuchet, a powerful machine used to hurl projectiles. Trebuchets were able to throw massive objects at high speeds over great distances with great accuracy. Hurling objects into the air with great force has sparked great interest about the construction and operation of trebuchets. It brings several questions to mind. First, what is a trebuchet and how would you construct one? Second, does the length of the arm of the trebuchet affect the distance a projectile would travel when fired? And third, does force have an impact on the distance the projectile travels? Upon completion of my research, it can be concluded that the length of the arm of the trebuchet and force does affect the distance a projectile will travel. Trebuchets are simple structures consisting of two A-frames with an axel between them. Around the axel is a lever arm that pivots. One end of the lever is shorter and carries a counter weight; and on the other end is a sling that carries a projectile. It is considered a counterweight seige engine. Very simply, it is a lever and a sling. A lever is a simple machine that allows you to move heavy objects long distances with little energy. To use a lever, a person rests it on a support, the fulcrum, which is placed near the lower end of the lever and inserts it under the object to be lifted. The person pushes down on the upper end of the bar, the bar pivots on the fulcrum and the lower end is forced up. There are three classes of levers; class 1, class 2, and class 3. The trebuchet lever is a class 1 lever. A class 1 lever uses a fulcrum which is off center to

More about Trebuchet Physics Essay

Open Document