*Note: This is an abbreviated Project Idea, without notes to start your background research, a specific list of materials, or a procedure for how to do the experiment. You can identify abbreviated Project Ideas by the asterisk at the end of the title. If you want a Project Idea with full instructions, please pick one without an asterisk. Abstract Before cannons widely replaced them, siege engines were often used by armies to throw large stones and other projectiles to break down castle walls. One of the most advanced siege engines used in the Middle Ages was the trebuchet, which used a large counterweight to store energy to launch a payload, or projectile. The horizontal distance the payload would travel is called the trebuchet's range. Can someone please explain to me how to calculate Trebuchet mechanics? I know it involves lever mechanics with torque. Calculating Trebuchet Mechanics Mar 25. Trebuchet simulator on Scratch by malkallamwarrior. Just press start! It's a self running trebuchet simulator that shows where the projectile goes! Figure 1, below, shows a modern reconstruction of a trebuchet. The range of a trebuchet has always been important. In the Middle Ages, soldiers had to make sure their trebuchets had a long enough range to stay outside the range of defending archers on castle walls. While they are no longer used in warfare, today people still build trebuchets for fun and use them in contests to see who can launch things the farthest. There are many different factors that can affect the range of a trebuchet; for example, the mass of the counterweight or the length of the lever arm. While designers of the Middle Ages had to rely largely on intuition or trial and error to build their trebuchets, modern builders have many helpful tools available. In addition to building prototypes of a trebuchet, you can also use physics calculations or even a computer simulation to help you design it to have the best range. Schematic you can use to start analyzing the physics of a trebuchet. Note that m 1 and m 2 can be treated as point masses (so you do not need to account for their diamters), but are drawn larger in the figure. The variables in Figure 3 are as follows: • m 1 is the mass of the counterweight in kilograms (kg). • m 2 is the mass of the payload (kg). • h is the initial height of the counterweight off the ground. • L 1 is the distance between the pivot and the counterweight's attachment point in meters (m). • L 2 is the distance between the pivot and the sling's attachment point (m). • L 3 is the length of the sling (m). • L 4 is the length of the rope suspending the counterweight (this distance is zero if the counterweight is fixed directly to the lever arm) (m). How can you use these variables to calculate the range of a trebuchet? There is more than one way to tackle the problem. Depending on your experience levels with math and physics, you can try the following approaches: • If you have knowledge of basic physics concepts like projectile motion and conservation of energy, can you predict the maximum possible range of the trebuchet, assuming all of the counterweight's initial potential energy is converted to kinetic energy of the payload?
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March 2019
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