History of Catapults Kiki jadrawi
Many people feel like catapults are useless in the sense of human use and other see catapults as a testing machine on how far an object can go when it's launched but it's much more than that.
One type of catapult is the stone hurling catapult, it was use in Greece in 400 BCE. The catapult was an ancient siege machine that could hurl heavy objects or shoot arrows with great force and for considerable distances. Some catapults could throw stones weighing as much as 350 pounds for distances greater than 300 feet (smith.edu). Usually they would used when someone would try to invade a castle. Since the catapult creates such a powerful force it can destroy a whole group of invaders at one time.
A catapult is a mechanism used to throw missiles in the middle age warfare. At first, catapults were specifically designed to shoot spears or other missiles at a low trajectory. They were originally distinguished from ballistae and trebuchets, both of which were large military engines used to hurl stones and other missiles (apphysicsb). Now our warfare technology has grown tremendously that we no longer use catapults during war.
Many people would ask, what is really a catapult? A catapult is simply an ancient military engine for launching stone and sometime arrows. One main catapult is called ballista. The Ballista is basically a giant crossbow. The word Ballista comes from the Greek word "Ballistes" meaning throw. The Ballista was created to amply to range and power of the crossbow and was the earliest catapult (catapult.sites). It's made with two wood arms which is attached to a piece of rope. The rope was attached to a winch (which is a fancy word for a lifting mechanism) and pulled back, bending the arm back. When released the Ballista would shoot large arrow, or darts.
Another type of catapult is the Mangonel. It's the simplest kind of catapult and usually the first thing that comes to mind when a word catapult comes into mind. The Mangonel consists of a long wood arm with a bucket with a rope attached to the end. The arm is then pulled back then energy was stored in the tension of the rope and the arm. Then the bucket would be loaded. When released the Mangonel's arm would return to its equilibrium position, when it came in contact with the beam the arm would stop but the missiles stored in the bucket would continue to launch toward the enemy (catapult.sites).
The last type of catapult is the trebuchet. First, the arm pulled down and secured by the slip-hook previous to unhooking the rope of the windlass. Then, the arm released from the slip-hook and casting the stone out of its sling. Finally the arm at the end of its upward sweep. The Medieval Trebuchet was designed as a giant catapult, or sling. Missiles thrown from the Medieval Trebuchet catapults were deadly. The Medieval Trebuchet is generally associated with throwing stones. A Medieval Trebuchet could release up to 2000 stones in one day! Should the supply diminish sharp wooden poles and darts would be used. Fire caused havoc in a besieged castle or city and a variety of fire missiles, including firebrands were thrown (medieval-life-and-times).