ERIC Number: EJ864424
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Dec
Pages: 5
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-921X
EISSN: N/A
Optimum Onager: The Classical Mechanics of a Classical Siege Engine
Denny, Mark
Physics Teacher, v47 n9 p574-578 Dec 2009
The onager is a throwing weapon of classical antiquity, familiar to both the ancient Greeks and Romans. Here we analyze the dynamics of onager operation and derive the optimum angle for launching a projectile to its maximum range. There is plenty of scope for further considerations about increasing onager range, and so by thinking about how this machine might be improved, a student can gain insight beyond the equations of motion and can test hypotheses on readily available working models. Some of these performance improvements are considered in this paper.
Descriptors: Motion, Mechanics (Physics), Science Instruction, Scientific Principles, Teaching Methods
American Association of Physics Teachers. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740. Tel: 301-209-3300; Fax: 301-209-0845; e-mail: pubs@aapt.org; Web site: http://scitation.aip.org/tpt
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A