Trebuchet Design
Over the span of one month we in the 9th Grade physics class have labored to produce a functioning replica of the ancient and revered trebuchet. A long armed siege weapon used throughout history to launch rocks and debris over the heads of the attacking forces to disable the enemy defenses. It functions as a weighted sling flinging the rock forward at high velocity (as depicted below)
The idea behind designing and building a functioning trebuchet was to further an hypothetical understanding of the physical requirements of a functioning device and to educate us in the methods of physical interaction between acceleration projectile motion and launch velocity. The design process furthermore developed our understanding of project design and construction within the confines of Animas and the expectation of further quality work.
The functionality of a swinging weight trebuchet is simplistic in nature. The weight arm holds a weighted object or pulley of some sort (in this case the metal and dumbbells shown above) which falls thus leveraging the load arm forward much how someone might fling a spoon full of mashed potatoes by flicking the bottom of the spoon downwards. The sling attached to the load arm will then be slung forward and release the projectile at great forward velocity into the desired target. The swinging weight of the trebuchet will swing back and forth until the force exhumed from the falling weight is expended thus allowing the payload arm to be leveraged back against the ground and the weight to be again lifted into the air in preparation for the next shot. The sling functions be being roughly attached to the trebuchet in such a way as to release and fly forward while at terminal height (45 degrees) while at the same time remaining attacked to the payload arm. When the weight falls forward the payload arm being dragged forward by opposing force then allowed to rotate on the circular fulcrum (displayed as a metal pole in the above) which serves as the rotational axis for the upper and lower parts of the arm, the payload and weight arm respectively.
One of the biggest issues when designing a trebuchet is producing an functioning weight capable of falling and swinging in such a way as to propel the payload arm. The weight has to be massive enough to fall with enough velocity and force to pull the arm, but cannot be to heavy otherwise it shall fail to swing. The weight according to calculations I found on the internet should be 33 times greater than the wight of the projectile you wish to launch. Further more you must launch the projectile at certain altitude and angle of release otherwise the projectile will not launch, 45 degrees is the optimal angle. Finally you must have a way to reload and release the weight in a controlled manner thus necessitating complex roping and design to maintain easy control. Taking all factors into account the simple design of a frame and the straightforward design of a sling is far less difficult to engineer than a functioning weight and launch arm. My group (Mongolian spears) had much difficulty designing a functioning weight and went through several different designs before finally deciding on the one shown. We overcame the problem by picking the easiest solution rather than the one most loyal to our original design thus overcoming adversity.
The point of having a group project is to educate younger individuals in the functions of working together as a cohesive unit to the production of a better product in long term design and creation. The meaning of these teams is to increase communication between individuals and support interconnection in the community. The community of learners in this school is focused on communication of ideas and education in those fields. And the trebuchet project is a good reflection of what it means to be a member of the Animas high school population in general. With an interesting and unique project being employed to teach us the most effective ways to design a project,build a cohesive final product,and capture a small city or town depending on the thickness of their walls and the stoutness of their defenders. The community of education present here is unprecedented in the general field of knowledge and a good indicator of what is possible for educators everywhere. With a large group focused on communication, cohesion, and community.
Personally for this project I feel that the biggest asset I gave to my group (as aforementioned) is the ability to actually apply design ideas into a physical content. I worked mostly on the actual construction of the device rather than the planning or design stages of the trebuchet (I was involved yet not nearly as much). Me and my dude Bryan worked most of the time on the physical structure of the trebuchet while my gals Sailor and Niema worked inside...presumably. I built most of the actual trebuchet and designed the functioning mechanisms after they were otherwise ineffectual. I think that the biggest strength I gave was design and application of planning.
Space Settlement
- How can at least four of the following Physics concepts be applied to a space settlement: circular motion, center of gravity, torque, and Newton’s 1st, 2nd, and 3rd laws of motion?
- The laws of gravity can be applied by near necessity, to state simply an human cannot survive and indefinite amount of time without access to high gravity of at least 0.1 Gs. Circular motion can be applied similarly due to the fact that one of the most reliable and well known forms of artificial gravity rely on the usage of large rotational structures to employ centrifugal force as an artificial pull against existing gravity or lack thereof. This of course comes into play when it goes in opposition with torque which applies as it must be counteracted in order to maintain an constant rotation without altering the position or stability of an object. Finally in order to understand the effect of torque the laws of motion must be accounted for which state that an object in motion tend to stay in motion thus compiling that the rotation of a hypothetical synthetic gravity well would throw an base from its resting place through simple force of rotation velocity.
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- How did you grow as a Digital Artist during this project? (Think in terms of Lighting, Framing, Editing, etc…)
- I managed to throw together an passable film in a matter of a week, and while the footage was low quality it was enough to get me a passing grade for this class. I grew in my digital art by developing my skills in editing and evolving my ability in regards to the production of video and the editing of video files in multiple programs. With my ability in editing facing absolute attention in advancement this skill of course being the most applied would by logical definition of skill be the most progressed. In addition to this my ability in framing audio production and refinement and has increased.
- Using evidence, please describe which of the following 21st Century Skills was your greatest strength during this project:
- My greatest strength in this project was adaptation as my entire project was be swiftly adapting to random variables the gods saw fit to throw at me, the project was compiled of many different videos and my job was to cut apart and compile the footage into the horrible amalgamation that the final product displayed itself as. My job involved adapting constantly to different video and audio forms and thus I had to evolve my technique and plan with great speed in order to finish within the allotted time. I am happier than I would have been had I not created my product the way I did and while it could use refinement I regret nothing due to the adaptability displayed.
- Using evidence, please describe which of the following 21st Century Skills was your greatest area for growth during this project:
- My greatest area for growth is refinement as my entire project was thrown together in a period of no less than four days of intense rage and labor. The product severely lacked refinement due to the limited time allotted to me and my general stupidity resulted in the weak product you see below. I wish I had been given the opportunity to work more on my final product thus alleviating my greatest weakness in this regard by giving me the ability to produce an product that I can take greater pride in the completion of.