Catapults 1

CATAPULTS

Catapults

Makenzie Matthews
Sam Williams
McCayla Smith
Physics 1010
Salt Lake Community College

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Abstract
Catapults were a sensational invention in history that allowed civilization to develop creatively,
scientifically, and independently. Catapults have been used for combat throughout history by
Greece and Rome for combat. There is also evidence that catapults were used in China. They
constantly underwent improvements by redesign resulting in a range of catapults. The range of
catapults used in history and in current use includes ballistas, trebuchets, mangonel, onagers, and
electromagnetic catapults. Every catapult in history utilized physics providing logical warfare
machines. Rotational motion around a fulcrum, producing torque to launch the projectile, is
generally displayed in a catapult.

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Historically, the creation of the catapult was one of the biggest innovational
breakthroughs of the 5th century. Not only were catapults on the leading edge of warfare, they
were on the leading end of physics. The physics developed within each type of catapult helped
describe laws that were not yet even fathomable at that time. Throughout history, catapults
provided people with innovation, science and freedom.
Greeks are credited for the invention of catapults and the main contributor to the spread
of catapult use. The first catapult was invented around 400 BC (Colwell, Eoh, Halpern, & Shea,
1998) by the Greek Dionysius, the Elder of Syracuse (see Figure 1). A war broke out in Sicily in
409 BC (Britannica, 2015) where Dionysius used his catapult to expand his power. Dionysiuss
catapult (1998), lead to both the ballista (see Figure 2) and the onager design (see Figure 9). The
Greek Ballista used a Torsion Spring (The Ballista, 2012) and was used for both defense and
offense in sieges. The Greeks invented catapults, which then spread to Rome and became an
influential part in warfare throughout history.

Figure 1
Romans did not invent the catapult, they did however, make advancements on catapult
designs and created new names for the catapults. Torsion artillery (Cartwright, 2014) was
adopted by the Romans from the Greeks. The Romans (Colwell, Eoh, Halpern, & Shea, 1998)

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added wheels to Dionysiuss catapult to make maneuvering easier. Roman catapults (Cartwright,
2014) were often ballistae and had a stock, winch, and base, showing a distinct design preference
in Roman warfare. Over time, the capabilities of catapults improved due to better resources. By
200 AD (2014), Romans improved catapults by making them wider for better accuracy and
began making catapults out of iron instead of wood which gave them more power. The onager
(The Catapult, 2012), was given the nickname wild ass by Romans, along with names like
scorpion for a slingshot and war engine for the mangonel. When the Romans accepted the
use of catapults, they improved the design of catapults causing them to be even more dominant
than before.

Figure 2
Another country that utilized catapults was China. China used catapults in history around
the same time as Greece and Rome. However, there is speculation that catapults were used in
Chinese history much before Dionysiuss catapult. Although there is no definite record of
catapults being used in Chinese history before 400 BC there are records referencing large
machines that can launch large objects. One of the earliest references to catapults in Chinese
culture was found in records written by Jia Kui and Xu Shen (Meng, 2005), two Han dynasty
scholars. They writings spoke of hui (2005), used by the King of Zhou in 707 BC. Another

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reference to ancient catapults in Chinese history is in Fan Lis Art of War (2005), which stated a
machine that could launch large rocks twenty paces. About five-hundred years later, in 240 A.D.
(2005), military engineer Ma Jun proposed a catapult that launched multiple shots instead of just
one through a ferris-wheel design, but was most likely never used for combat. Records show that
there were multiple sieges throughout the Tang dynasty era. Once at the Sui capital in 617 AD
(2005), over three-hundred catapults were deployed by Engineer-General Tian Maoguang then
again in 668 AD, with the siege of Pyongyang using Xuanfeng catapults (see Figure 3). Various
catapults were developed by the Chinese. Types include light Xuanfeng catapults (2005),
medium sized Hudun catapults, heavy Sijiao catapults, and open framed counterweight
trebuchets. Catapult use and development in China was significant in the advancement of
Chinese warfare.

Figure 3
Leonardo da Vinci designed multiple catapults during his lifetime, to improve efficiency
and accessibility of warfare. Two of his most notable designs were developed during the 1480s
(Leonardo da Vinci, 2015), Leonardo da Vinci designed two catapults, a single arm catapult and
double arm catapult (see Figure 8). The single arm catapult (2015) was designed to have a long

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pole inserted into a drum and when pulled back a ratchet would hold it in firing position until
release. The double armed catapult (2015) used a winding instrument to move the arm into
position where the release apparatus would be put into place to hold the tension, after the
winding instrument would be removed and the catapult would be tripped. Some of his other
designs included catapults, ballistae, slingshots, war plans, and missiles for the catapults.
Leonardo da Vinci (Annabell, 2000) developed a rapid-firing crossbow powered by men
pedaling around the rim of a wheel. Despite that many of his designs provided an improvement
on catapult designs, many of the designs could not be tested due to the building capabilities
during the time. One such design included multiple springs added to a giant ballista (2000), the
crossbow was designed to be over seventy-six feet, on six wheels, angled to absorb its recoil,
rumored to be silent, and worked through gears and was released by striking a pin. A design that
allowed for greater efficiency was da Vincis quick-load catapult. The quick-load catapult (2000)
was designed to allow stones to be placed into a cup and then the arm was bent back and released
by striking a pin, this also made it possible to leave missiles inside the catapult in case of a
surprise attack. To improve stability, da Vinci designed finned missiles filled with gunpowder
that catch fire on impact. Leonardo da Vinci provided new catapult designs that allowed for a
more accurate and efficient way of battling, although his designs were not always used.
Today, catapults are made as steam and electromagnetic catapults (see Figure 4) for
scientific and military use. In 1955 (Nathan, 2013), the steam catapult was being tested for
aircraft carrier developments. Today, steam catapults are in less demand as the technology for
electromagnetic catapults is arising. The Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (Catapulting
Ahead, 2014), or EMALS, launches heavy planes thirty knots faster than a steam catapult.
Electromagnetic catapults are also being tested as a potential for missiles and other projectiles

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(2014), which would reduce the risk of premature detonation. Railguns (2014), an
electromagnetic projectile, are currently under experimentation for the United States Navy. The
use of steam and electromagnetic catapults is still being developed and allowing for greater
scientific and militaristic achievement today.

Figure 4
Again, the first type of catapult was used by the greeks in the year 399 BC. The Greeks
first rendition of their catapult was based off of a cross bow design and were used to hurl arrows.
These renditions were not as powerful as a regular bow so the development of catapults was put
on hold till around 200 BC when the theory of Belepietics was introduced.
Philo of Byzantium provides probably the most detailed account on the establishment of
a theory of belopoietics (belos = projectile; poietike = (art) of making. The central principle
to this theory was that all parts of a catapult, including the projectile, had to be proportional to
the size of the torsion springs. This kind of innovation is indicative of the increasing rate at
which geometry and physics were being introduced into warfare.

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Figure 5
This leads us to the first type of catapult device we typically think of, called the Ballista.
The Ballista, was similar to a crossbow, however though it was gigantic. According to
LordandLadies.org on average they measured at over 17 feet long and 6 feet tall. Due to their
massive size, they were typically built on site and not transported. This type of catapult used
torsion to shoot massive darts made of iron and wood on a track strung by rope or hide. The
Ballista was notable because of its accuracy, although it lacked firepower compared to other
catapults developing shortly after.

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Figure 6
Shortly after the Ballista was developed the Mangonel was on the rise among military
forces. These were designed to throw heavy objects and projectiles from a bowl-shaped bucket at
the end of its firing arm. The design of these catapults worked by using torsion or counterpoise.
Its design was simple, a huge firing arm with a pivot point in the middle. On the opposite end of
the bowl-shaped arm were weights and or tension bands to pivot the bowl-shaped end forward.
The Mangonel was typically used for sieges with a range up to 1300 feet, throwing stones and
even rotting carcasses. Around 4 BC, these catapults were fastened with wheels to make them
mobile.

Figure 7
Fast forward a thousands years and we now have the Trebuchet catapult. These were the
most common and powerful type of catapult used in the middle ages. Trebuchets came in two
different designs: Traction and Counterpoise. Traction types were powered by people and
counterpoise was where the people were replaced with a weight on the short end. Much like the

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Mangonel, they used a lot of the same physics but at the end of the firing arm was an additional
sling. This may sound similar to the Mangonel but the catapult was typically built over 10 feet
tall with abilities to demolish castle walls. The most common type of ammunition were
projectiles that were on fire.

Figure 8
The last catapult development within the renaissance period was a catapult developed by
Leonardo da Vinci. He wanted to improve the efficiency and rand of previous catapults
developed. His design incorporated a large wooden leaf spring as an accumulator to power the
catapult. Both ends of the bow are connected by a rope, similar to the design of a bow and arrow.
The leaf spring was not used to pull the catapult armature directly; rather the rope was wound
around a drum. The catapult armature was attached to this drum, which would be turned until
enough potential energy was stored in the deformation of the spring. The drum would then be
disengaged from the winding mechanism, and the catapult arm would snap around. Though no
records exist of this design being built during Leonardo's lifetime, contemporary enthusiasts have
reconstructed it.

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The basic physics behind catapults is due to rotational motion. The arm or lever of the
catapult rotates around an axis, or its fulcrum, allowing the lever to launch a projectile. The
force that is responsible for this movement is called torque, or a twisting force that tends to cause
rotation. The torque movement of the lever allows the projectile to accelerate, gain momentum,
and causes angular velocity. This warrants the projectile to be launched as far as possible and
with enough speed to cause damage.
The physics behind catapults is stored, potential energy, which is converted to kinetic
energy and used to hurl a projectile farther than a human could ever throw. There are 3 different
types of energy used for catapults: tension, torsion, and gravity. Tension is the state of being
pulled tight, torsion is the extent to which a curve departs from being planar, and gravity is the
force which attracts a body towards the center of Earth. The main types of catapults used were
the ballista, the trebuchet, mangonel, and onager, and all of them had a different idea of physics
behind them.
The ballista, which uses a twisted rope as the main source of energy, was nicknamed the
giant crossbow due to its similarities. The twisted rope is connected to two wooden arms to the
side of the body; the twisted rope is then pulled back and locked into place ready to fire as
arrows or spears are put into place. The potential energy in the ballista catapult is stored in the
arms of the bow and in the tension of the twisted rope. Hooke's Law states that the force
needed to extend or compress a spring by some distance is proportional to that distance. The
same idea is used for the ballista catapult for the tension on the ropes acts much like a spring.
Once fired the potential energy is converted to kinetic energy, the kinetic energy from the bow as
it releases will be equal to the potential energy of the system. In order to insure maximum range
and to determine the time the weapon will hit the ground, two simple equations are used once the

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velocity has been determined. If the arrow is shot horizontally then the initial velocity is
equivalent to the horizontal velocity (if air resistance is considerably negligible), then there
would be no change in velocity. Meaning that whatever comes into contact with the weapon
before it hits the ground, they will be hit at the initial velocity. The time is takes for the arrow to
hit the ground depends on how high the arrow was shot and how big the ballista that shot it was
constructed.
The trebuchet is another type of catapult and is the most powerful of all catapults as well
as improved accuracy. It has a large arm (with a sling tied to the end) attached to the fulcrum
and another, significantly shorter arm, attached to the counterbalance. The physics behind the
trebuchet is completely dependent on gravitational potential energy. When it is time to load the
sling, the long arm is dropped to the ground, making the shorter arm attached to the heavy
counterbalance be suspended in the air and support the entire system. When the trebuchet is in
this position, the gravitational potential energy is stored in the heavy counterbalance. When it is
time to fire the catapult, the long arm is released as well as the potential energy. The
gravitational potential energy at this point is converted to rotational kinetic energy. The angular
velocity of the counterbalance is the same angular velocity at the end of the sling, allowing for
precise hits. The trebuchet is known for destroying complete cities and castle walls because the
speed at which the projectile hits the targeted object can be calculated for maximum speed.
The mangonel is the catapult people are most familiar with. It works like a third class
lever, the mangonel functions with a long arm which is brought down from its 90 degree angle of
equilibrium. The potential energy is stored in the tension of the ropes and arms, when the
mangonel is fired the arm swings forward until it reaches its 90 degree equilibrium angle, at
which point the contents the catapult is firing leaves the compartment in which it was stored and

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launches forward. This is due to Newtons first law of motion which states an object in motion
tends to stay in motion and an object at rest tends to stay at rest. The energy is stored like the
energy in a spring is stored, and figuring out the equations is the same as the ballista. However,
unlike the ballista, the mangonel doesnt projectile in a linear fashion, instead it follows an arc,
making the potential energy convert to rotational kinetic energy. The contents being launched
by the mangonel is moving at the same speed as the arm that launched it even after it leaves the
compartment. Gravity brings the projectile back to the center of Earth, with gives it, its
trajectory.
The onager, nicknamed wild ass, uses elastic energy which is contained in a bunch of
elastic, twisted rope tied to a long arm. Much like the mangonel, the onager uses torsion to
throw a projectile. The mangonel and the onager are very similar, and the only main difference
is the onager uses a sling to throw a projectile, while the mangonel uses a bucket shape at the end
of the long wooden arm. Both of them uses low trajectories and high velocities and both are
used to attack walls, buildings, and cities.

Figure 9
In conclusion, even in the latest stages of catapult development, there is no catapult that
is right from every scenario. Each catapult has its own advantages and disadvantages. Catapults
played a vital role in battles, war and scientific breakthroughs throughout history. Unknowingly,

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the development of catapults explained fundamental physics. Without catapults history would
have been painted a very different picture and who knows how far behind we would be
scientifically.

Bibliography
Digital File
(FSEA), F. S. (1997). Educational Programs: Modules Library. Retrieved March 18, 2015, from
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We were asked to write a short reflection on our experience with this group
essay. This was a good project because I learned a lot about the history of catapults
and the physics that accompanies them. Since there are a variety of catapults, there are
multiple physics principles that tie into them such as Hookes law and torsion, which
makes catapults interesting to learn about. Overall, this project was a great way for me
to gain insight on catapults.