Boyle1

NatalieBoyle
Mathematics
Ms.Vee
January22,2015
SiegeWeaponry
Walls,castles,andbarricadesForcenturiespeoplehaveattemptedtodestroyprotective
barriers.Howevertheywereunsuccessfulalone.Thatiswhenthecatapultwasinvented.A
catapultisaweaponofwarfare,inwhichaccumulatedtensionissuddenlyreleasedtohurlan
objectoversomedistance.MostpeopleassociatecatapultswiththeMiddleAgesbutthey
actuallydatebackasearlyas400BC.ThefirstcatapultsweremadebytheGreek.Catapults
originallyderivedfromthecrossbow.TheGreeksdesignedtheircatapultstoincreasethepower
andrangeofthecurrentcrossbow.ThefirstcatapultwastheGastraphete,ithadtobepointedat
thegroundandtheoperatorhadtousegreatforcetosettheweapontofire.TheRomansuseda
similardesignofCatapultinaround200BCcopyingtheGreeks.TheMiddleAgeswasatimeof
growthformanycountriesandthatwasduetotheCatapult.Theyusedcatapultstobreakdown
castlewallsandattackvillages.Catapultsplayedamajorroleinadvancingandexpanding
countries.
TheBallistaisoftenbelievedtobeoneofthefirstcatapultdesigns.Itcloselyresemblesa
crossbowandfunctionssimilarly.TheBallistausestwistedropeastheenergysource.Twowood
armsareattachedtoapieceofropewhichwasusuallymadeofhumanhair.Theropewas
attachedtoawinchandpulledback,bendingthearmback.Thenthearmwouldbereleasedand
theBallistawouldshootlargearrows,ordartstowardtheenemy.Manybelievethesuccessof
theRomanEmpirecamefromtheBallista.Withtheuseofthisweaponrytheywereableto
destroywallsoffortsandenemycities,inseconds.Itwasoneofthemostaccuratesiege
instrumentsoftheMedievalEra.Thesametechnologytodayisusedonaircraftcarriers.They
usethesamedesigntolaunchandlandplanesontheaircraftsshortrunway.TheBallistawasso
successfulbecauseofitseasytousedesign,andalsoitsaccuracy.However,theBallistawas
difficulttousebecauseitwasnottransportableandhadtobemadeonthebattlefieldandlacked
masspowerunlikelatercatapultdesigns.

Boyle2

OneofthemostfamiliarandiconictypesofcatapultsistheMangonel,alsoknownasthe
onager.TheMangonelhasanarmwithabowlshapedbucketattachedtotheend.Theitem
desiredtobelaunchedisputinthebowl.Uponrelease,thearmrotatesupwarduntilitcomes
intocontactwiththecrossbarwhichstopsthearmfrommovingandlaunchestheitemsoutof
thebucket,towardsthetarget.Mangonelshadhorizontalvelocitysotheyweremainlyusedfor
attackingcastlewallsandenemylinesinbattle.TheRomansusedthisspecificcatapultinmany
oftheirbattles.Mangonelswerecapableoffiringprojectilesupto1,300feet.Themainproblems
withtheMangonelcatapultwastheaccuracyanddurability.Thisspecificcatapultwasnotvery
accurateandcausedmanyissues.Sincethepowercamefromtwistedropeorhair,itdeteriorated
veryquicklyandwouldneedtobereplacedveryfrequently.Anothercatapultwasdesignedtobe
moredurable.
TheTrebuchetwasthemostdestructiveandpowerfulofthecatapultdesigns.The
MangonelandBallistagotitsenergyfromtwistedropeorhair,buttheTrebuchetpowercame
fromgravitationalpotentialenergy.Itworkedlikeaveryunbalanced,extremeseesaw.Ithad
twoarms,onelongerthantheother.Attheendofthelongwoodenarm,therewasabasketor
sacandtheprojectileswouldbeloadedintothere.Ontheendoftheshortarm,therewas
counterbalanceweight.Usuallythisconsistedofalargeleadboxfilledwithdirt,sand,orrocks.
Thelongarmwaspulleddownthenloaded,thenthepeopleloadingtheprojectileswouldletgo.
Thecounterbalancewouldplummettothegroundcausingtheotherarmtomoveaswelland
releasetheprojectiles.Thisdesignwasveryeffectiveandcausedmassamountsofdamageto
enemies.Thetrebuchetwasusedinwarfareformanyyearsand
Myidealcatapultdesignwouldincorporatespecificideasfromeachofthethree
catapults.IthinktheBallistatechnologywouldbeveryusefulforaccuracyandvertical
momentum.TheMangonellaunchestheprojectileatanupward,archinganglesoIwould
definitelymakethelaunchliketheBallista.TheTrebuchethasthemostpowerandforcesoI
wouldusethecounterbalancetechnology.Myidealcatapultdesignwouldincludethetrajectory
andlaunchingsystemoftheBallistaandthecounterbalanceenergysourceliketheTrebuchet.