Essay --

The Physics of the Mangonel Catapult Catapults have been used for centuries by many groups of people, including the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Chinese. Catapults have had an assortment of purposes, but the most commonly purpose was to launch a projectile to destroy castles and soldiers. There were three main types of catapults; Ballista, Mangonel, and the Trebuchet. The mangonel was the most popular one. Different levels of torsion in the rope of the mangonel catapult decided how far a projectile was going to travel. Also the different objects that were used as projectiles and there masses also had a big role in the distance they would reach. If physics weren’t applied to building a catapult the catapult itself wouldn’t function correctly, therefore physics is what brings these machines to life. Though catapults are no longer used today in combat or any other use they still have a great history behind them. The mangonel catapult was the most well known one. The way this catapult functioned was by pulling back on a wooden stick that was connected to a wooden arm with a bucket, would pull that arm back. Pulling back on the wooden stick would cause the potential energy of the catapult to be stored in the torsion of the ropes of the wooden arm. When the wooden stick was let go the arm wood immediately return to its original position of 90 degrees where a wooden block would stop its impact and would then launch the projectile. When the arm reaches back to its original position it forms an arc with a radius equal to the arm length. Therefore the potential energy is transferred into rotational kinetic energy. Decreasing the torsion in the ropes of the wooden arm would make the projectile travel at a slower velocity. To calculate the t... ...ed. Another disadvantage is that the mangonel was not that accurate. The range was determined by the mass of the object and the strength of the catapult itself. Catapults were the weapon of the medieval times. The catapults had many purposes especially during war. Physics were applied to the building of a catapult without it the catapult wouldn’t function. The different levels of torsion would affect the catapults ability to launch a projectile higher into the sky, further, and give it a faster velocity. Also the different masses of objects used as the projectile were also accounted for those things. Though the mangonel catapult was a great catapult it also lacked some abilities, such as having poor accuracy and it wouldn’t work in wet conditions or cold weather like in the rain. Overall the mangonel is a great catapult and always has been over the past centuries.