Welcome!

Hi everyone : ) This is my cannon blog. Note that there are more posts on another page, so click, "older posts" to see them. PLEASE COMMENT!!!!!!

Math Component - Question

Cannon Blog: Math Component

Initial velocity equation: (speed (ft/sec))cos(launch angle)

Use the quadratic model h = -16t²+v₀t+h₀ to solve the following problem.

Blog about the steps you took to solve these problems.

Math Component - Problem

A cannonball is shot upward from the upper deck of a fort with an initial velocity of 192 feet per second.  The deck is 32 feet above the ground. 

Quadratic Model: _ h = -16t²+192t+32 _

1.     How high does the cannonball go? ___608 ft____ (Remember you are looking for a specific part of the vertex.)

2.     How long is the cannonball in the air? ___12 seconds___ (Remember you can use the quadratic formula.)

Math - Process

Process:

1.     Graph quadratic model

2.     Look at table

3.     X represents t for time, and Y represents feet

4.     At zero seconds, the initial height is 32 feet.

5.     The highest Y value is 608, which represents the maximum height of the cannonball.

6.     After the 608, the Y values begin to decrease

7.     When it reaches 32, or the end height, the X value is 12

8.     This means that it took 12 seconds for the cannon to reach 608 ft. and land back to 32 ft.

English Component - Ethics of Weapon Development in A Long Way Gone

Weapons are helpful when protecting a person’s safety or defending your country in war, but there many times that weapons hurt more than help. In a Long Way Gone Ishmael is robbed of his childhood and forced to fight in a violent war. The things that he and other children like him saw, were horrible experiences that no child should ever have to watch. Weapons are dangerous and should not be used by children. They often lead to many unnecessary deaths and overall a more violent world.

Science Component - Design Elements, Research, and Process

Design plan: We concluded that the way we designed our tennis ball cannon was the most efficient way because it supported the cannon and its chambers.

Launch Angle: We chose to angle our cannon at 45 degrees because we determined that any angle below 40 degrees would shoot too low and hit the ground quickly, while an angle any higher than 50 degrees would travel straight up and not reach its full capability in shooting range.

Gas Law Used: We used Gay Lussac’s Law because it states the pressure of gas is always proportional to the temperature while the volume remains constant. In our project, the temperature of the ethanol will increase when we light it, therefore the volume of its gas will proportionally increase. This increase in volume will launch the tennis ball out of the cannon.

How does this reaction happen: When Ethanol and Oxygen react, they combust and create pressure to launch our cannon. The chemical equation for the combustion of Ethanol Oxygen is:

C₂H₅OH + 3O₂ → 2CO₂ + 3H₂O 

Difficulties in Construction: When constructing our cannon, we had difficulties getting the cannon to stand at the proper angle and height. On our first try, we cut the lids of the tennis ball cans and taped them to the bottom of the cannon, but because of our limited materials, we were unable to create the right angle and height. In the end we decided to the remainder of silver wire from the tennis ball container because it was easy to adjust to the right height and provided more stability.

Construction Tools/Materials and Procedures:

Materials:

·      Two tennis ball containers with tops

·      An 18 inch piece of tape

Tools:

·      Scissors

·      Marker

·      Ruler

·      Protractor

Procedures:

1. Measure the first tennis ball container 4 inches above the bottom of the bottle. Then draw a second mark 4 inches after the first mark. Cut the first tennis ball container at the second mark from the bottom. Then stab a hole about three inches from the bottom, to allow the gas to escape. Repeat this same procedure for the second container. Exception: Do not cut a hole 3 inches above the bottom of the bottle in the second container.

2. Next cut the container where the first mark is (from the bottom) and then cut the second mark (which is at the top of container) off. Repeat the same steps for the second container.

3. Cut base of the second tennis ball container. After you finish cutting both containers, you should have a top piece, a middle section (that you cut from), a bottom, and half of the bottom end of the first cannon. Put them all together. Note: Cut the wire on the second container, for later use.

 4. Once you have each piece in the correct position, tape the pieces together with duct tape, to secure them for when they are fired.

5. After taping the pieces together, measure and mark 45 degrees from the bottom of the cannon. Insert the base of the cannon (the half-bottom of the first cannon), underneath the end of the cannon.

6. Finally, cut the piece of silver wire (if not done previously) and insert it underneath the cannon so that it aimed at the proper 45 degree angle.

History Component - Cannon Designs and Economic Impacts- pre 1800s

The Hand Cannon

Firearms are accepted now to have originated from china, although they aren’t sure exactly when. Some say they have existed as early as 1100s. But it is known for sure that they appeared in the early 1300s across Europe and were spread as far as Japan in the 1500s. One of the earliest portable firearms was a very simple hand cannon. It had a barrel and a handle that came in many shapes and sizes, and was made often out of metal but also wood and bamboo. It required manual external ignition, where someone would hold it with their hands while another applied the ignition. Common projectiles were pebbles found on the ground, arrows, or balls of stone or iron. It was not as accurate or fast as other popular weapons, but it had superior armor-penetration capability and could be employed by relatively poorly trained troops. It was also inexpensive and easy to mass produce. Despite these qualities, the hand cannon slowly it became obsolete. Its inaccuracy, because of poor quality of powder and poor construction, led to lack of battlefield presence. It was reported to have been used in the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260 by the Mamluks who at the time, were fighting against the Mongols.Forging methods required control over its manufacturing, and although inventions like corned powder and serpentine led to more effectiveness and increased adoption for the hand cannon, a new development of the first matchlock firearms were overall more effective. Hand cannons slowly became less and less popular, especially in the 1500s, but were used in some places until the 20^th century (hand cannon).

 

          

  

The Falconet Cannon

Falconet cannon was a light cannon created in the late 15^th century. It looked like a big matchlock musket with two moving wheels. During the middle ages, guns had engravings of animals depending on their size. The falconet cannon was named because it would shoot a similar size and weight to a falcon. It had a barrel size of about 4 feet long, a caliber of 2 inches, and it weighed about 176 pounds. It was used to fight in battles such as the Thirty Years war and the English Civil War, where many falconets were used to protest the houses of nobility, because they weighed and cost less than other weapons at the time. They were also used in the American Revolutionary War to defend light vessels on both sides (Falconet).

History Component - Cannon Designs and Economic Impacts - 1800s to 1900s

Howitzer

A Howitzer is a battery known for its short barrel and use of small charges to project at high trajectories with a steep angle of descent. The difference between a gun and the Howitzer is that the Howitzer has a multi-charge propellant, and fires at a higher elevation. They also use lower powder charges. WHen Switzerland first created the modern Howitzer, they were characterized by a shorter tail than other field guns. Howitzers came in many shapes and sizes. There was self propelled, mountain, pack, siege and field Howitzers that come in three different sizes, the 12 pounder, the 24 pounder, and the 32 pounder. They were originally intended to be used in sieze warfare, but they were often used to deliver cast iron shells, filled with things like gunpowder, inside fortifications. Soon Europe began to introduce Howitzers because of their mobility in the feild. They were used in many battles s`uch as the American civil War, The Spanish American War, the Russo-Turkish War and WWI. Field Howitzers were widely used in the civil war, and the most commonly known Howitzer was the 12 pounder “Napoleon.” Later Howitzers were replaced with artillery that used smoothbore pieces (Howitzer).

12-pounder Napoleon Model 1857

The twelve-pound cannon (twelve pound) was introduced by the french Army as the "canon obusier de 12" in 1853, or the "12-pounder Napoleon Model 1857 (canon obusier)." The "Napoleon," was a smoothbore cannon known for its safety, reliability and killing power, especially at a close range. Its name was taken from (field artillery) a former artillery officer and French emporer (twelve pound). Napoleon III of France (field artillery), and the phrase "12-pounder" represents its caliber which is 12 cm (canon obusier) . Its highest production was during the Napoleonic wars (1812-1815) and when it (twelve pound) arrived in America in 1857 (field artillery), it became extremely popular and was the primary cannon used in the American Civil War (twelve pound) . In the North 1,100 Napoleons were manufactured, and 600 were manufactured in the South. At Gettysburg, 36 percent of the Federal guns were Napoleons.

History Component - Cannon Designs and Economic Impact - Mondern Cannons

Canon de 155mm GPF/Canon de 155 Grande Puissance Fillox (GPF) mle

The Canon de 155mm GPF, or the Canon de 155 Grande Puissance Filloux (GPF) mle, was a field and coastal artillery gun originally from france. IT was used in service during WWI and WWII from 1917 to 1945. It was designed by Colonel L.J.F Filloux, during WWI, when the French was in desperate need for modern artillery. It was used by many countries including France, the USA, Nazi Germany, the Phillippines, and Chilie. In the beginning of the 20^th century, this 155 mm cannon was used by the French army as its standard heavy field gun from 1917 until WWII. When France fielded 450 guns in 1940, many were used by the Germans, where it was known as the 15.5 cm K 418(f). When it became manufactured in the US, it was used as the Army and the Marine Corp’s primary heavy artillery gun. It lasted until 1942 when it was replaced by the ‘Long Tom.’ Then it was next used in 1942, by the Associate US Army forces in the Far East in the Philippines and later saw some action from 1944 to 1945 (canon de 155mm).

The 3.7cm FlaK 43

This cannon was one in a series of medium caliber anti aircraft cannons made during WWII, used by Nazi Germany. The original design was created by Rheinmetall in 1935, with many similar designs before and after it. But because of the high costs, Rheinmetall-Borsig and Krupp were asked  to create it as a new version.  More than a year laterr, Rheinmetall-Borsig ended up finishing it. It was a lot better that previous versions, because of its better firing rate and it weighed less. It had one or two barrels, each 84 inch in length. Together this Anti aircraft cannon weighed 2,750 pounds. It was in service from 1943 to 1945 and was used in battles such as World War II. It lasted until Gerrmany was defeated and the Bofors 40 mm gun replaced it. Later, 35-mm anti-aircraft pieces produced by Switzerland (3.7cm FlaK). 

 

History Component - Research on Social Impacts

In the 14^th century cannons began to have a social impact in the world. Gunnery was a huge art form and it was taught solely by experience. They didn’t quite understand things like trajectory as we do now. For the most part, they believed the cannonball moved in a straight line until the powder was finished. Members of the Artillery soon advanced in social acceptance as well in the medieval times. This change in status soon caused the stability of the class structure of the period to weaken. Eventually only nobility were able to afford artillery, which lead to the break in the system of power. It also lead to the destruction of many great castles, that took years to create.(social impact)

In the year 1450 in Formingny, the English were confident with their large numbers against the French. They had great bowmen that had always won their battles. But the English change their mind when they see how the two small cannons that the French have make a huge difference in the French position. They try to take the guns from, and although they succeed at first, they are eventually taken back by the French, who won the war. A similar event occurs three years later at Castillion. After many centuries, a new era of weaponry begins (history).

History Component - Research and Argument of the Ethics of Weapn Development

Is it moral for societies to develop weapons of mass destruction for any reason? 
As a child, many people are taught to "treat others how you want to be treated (Granoff) ." But in the midst of war, does that principle still apply? Many say that developing weapons of mass destruction  only cause more and more violence in the world, but others say its a matter of safety. I think theres a happy medium between the two. I think it developing more weapons does cause more violence, and that theres always a better way to solve your problems, but in the modern world its just not realistic. The world is a big place, and people will not always get along, there will always be some sort of conflict going on. Its important to not let things get carried away and let the focus become like a competition for who has the lastest weapon, but its important to not get so behind in the development of weapons, that your saftety becomes a risk. Ideally, everyone should just put their guns away and solve their problems face to face, and treat others how they want to be treated (Granoff).

Welcome!

Hi everyone : ) This is my cannon blog. PLEASE COMMENT!!!!!!