04-19-2006, 10:25 AM
Stefan,
The diagrams were slavishly (subject only to progressive deformation to the hands of scribes who didn't exactly understand what they were copying... :roll: ) copied from original technical drawings with no room for embellishment.
On the other hand, non-composite bows would have been useless for the powerful engines described by Biton.
Composite bows are more easily affected by dampness than sinew or horsehair rope springs. The main problem with composite bows is the hide glue joining together sinew, wood and horn. There is no glue in a torsion spring and you only need to keep both springs balanced and twisted enough.
I feel that Greek and Roman engineers loved simple solutions to their problems (For example, Dionysos' repeating catapult described by Filon seemingly remained as a 'funny' and found no real success) and the Chinese multiple crossbow is really complicated...
Aitor
The diagrams were slavishly (subject only to progressive deformation to the hands of scribes who didn't exactly understand what they were copying... :roll: ) copied from original technical drawings with no room for embellishment.
On the other hand, non-composite bows would have been useless for the powerful engines described by Biton.
Composite bows are more easily affected by dampness than sinew or horsehair rope springs. The main problem with composite bows is the hide glue joining together sinew, wood and horn. There is no glue in a torsion spring and you only need to keep both springs balanced and twisted enough.
I feel that Greek and Roman engineers loved simple solutions to their problems (For example, Dionysos' repeating catapult described by Filon seemingly remained as a 'funny' and found no real success) and the Chinese multiple crossbow is really complicated...
Aitor
It\'s all an accident, an accident of hands. Mine, others, all without mind, from one extreme to another, but neither works nor will ever.
Rolf Steiner
Rolf Steiner
