KAPOW / May 2014 5
Ballistic
Projectiles
There are many different weapons involved in ballistics, from throwing to guns and rockets. Throwing is defined as the launching of projectiles by hand. Examples date back to over two million years ago, and include hand grenades, knives, spears, axes, and boomerangs. Slings are projectiles used to throw weapons such as stone or clay. They are small pouches attached to two chords that when pulled back, allow objects to be projected. Slings were first used in the Spanish Civil War to assist in throwing grenades. They back date even further in America, when they were used by the Incas for hunting and warfare. The oldest of weapon is the bow, created in Germany, for warfare, until the creation of guns and gunpowder. Bows are flexible weapons used to shoot arrows, and there are many different kinds. Some of these include: recurve and reflex bows, self bows made of wood, longbows that are 5 feet long or more, composite bows that are made up of more than one material, and compound bows that have mechanical aids. Catapults launch objects at great distances without the help of explosives. They were invented by the Greeks and originally called siege engines. Although many do not consider it so, rockets really are considered projectiles. The use of rockets began in the 13th century in China for the use of fireworks and weapons. Some types of rockets include ejection seats, missiles and satellites.
One of the main uses of rockets in science is the use of chemical rockets that are powered by exothermic chemical reactions. Lastly, guns are weapons used to discharge solid, liquid, gas, or energy projectiles. The means by which they get discharged vary by amounts of gas pressure. There are numerous types of guns. Some of these include: military guns (machine guns, rifles, and shotguns), machine guns, handguns (revolvers and pistols), tank guns and hunting guns, artillery guns, rescue guns (flares) and entertainment guns (airsoft, BB, paintball, potato cannons, water guns and cap guns).
Lindsey Attolino