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Best ratio/measurements for a floating arm trebuchet?
For my honors physics class, I m building a trebuchet that CANNOT exceed the measurements of 29 X 43 X 23 centimeters. It a miniature representation! I ve seen ratios of 3:1 and 2:1 for the arm, but I m not sure now. Trying to make it shoot as far as possible for this scale.
1 Answer
- Andrew SmithLv 74 years ago
The optimum length is determined by the mass of the arm, and the mass of the projectile.
What you SHOULD do is to make a design where the pivot point is adjustable so that you can experiment with shifting it.
If the mass of the arm is too large then most of your energy goes into the arm not the projectile.
If the mass of the arm is very low then it is insignificant but it might not be strong enough for the task at hand.
In the real world the designers were not able to use a honeycomb aluminium lattice.
Nor a carefully shaped magnesium beam, broad in the middle for strength and narrowing at the end for lightness.
But YOU could.
