05-31-2007, 06:21 AM
Archimedes[/quote]"The same is true for bows, incidentally. There is an optimal weight of arrow for range, and another for kinetic energy, depending on the strength of the bow and the design of the arrow. Air resistance and the design of the bow give an upper limit to how fast the arrow can be accelerated between release and leaving the string, so a very light arrow will fly no faster than a light one (and it may even fly slower, due to the inefficiencies involved)."
Similar considerations apply to 'heavy' arrows. A famous expert on archery had cause to examine a Tartar bow which had an extreme pull, and fired a heavy arrow to a range of little more than 100metres, which he then pooh-poohed and denigrated as 'useless'. In fact, if he had calculated the kinetic energy, he would have realised the bow was an exceptionally powerful armour-piercer at ranges up to 100metres !
Similar considerations apply to 'heavy' arrows. A famous expert on archery had cause to examine a Tartar bow which had an extreme pull, and fired a heavy arrow to a range of little more than 100metres, which he then pooh-poohed and denigrated as 'useless'. In fact, if he had calculated the kinetic energy, he would have realised the bow was an exceptionally powerful armour-piercer at ranges up to 100metres !
"dulce et decorum est pro patria mori " - Horace
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
(It is a sweet and proper thing to die for ones country)
"No son-of-a-bitch ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" - George C Scott as General George S. Patton
Paul McDonnell-Staff
