Tom Stanton's supersonic trebuchet breaks sound barrier with gravity alone
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Re: Tom Stanton's supersonic trebuchet breaks sound barrier with gravity alone
#2Seems like such an advance in this ancient technology. It would be really cool to see it applied in interesting ways.
I really wonder just how effective this could be as a defense system .. the mind wanders with every update Tom makes .. I imagine an aiming/targetting system would make this an effective, easily replenished, low-resource weapon system for some applications. Attacking feral animals, perhaps?
How could an auto-loader work for this .. I'm sure there's a means.
Another thing that I keep thinking about, is whether this would be an effective way to launch seed-bombs, or deal with avalanche conditions on a mountain without requiring fire-arms training.
A truly fascinating bit of engineering. I hope to see it evolve into an effective delivery mechanism.
Re: Tom Stanton's supersonic trebuchet breaks sound barrier with gravity alone
#3Also (mentioned by Tom), this elastic-powered supersonic trebuchet is an excellent video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdXOS-B0Bus
Re: Tom Stanton's supersonic trebuchet breaks sound barrier with gravity alone
#4How do you responsibly test something like this? The payload isn't going to follow a ballistic trajectory, it's going to follow an aerodynamic one. You'd probably have to design something special to load into it to aim the damned thing.
Which is a road trip to some place very empty in something like a 180º arc. Maybe 225º.
Re: Tom Stanton's supersonic trebuchet breaks sound barrier with gravity alone
#5Projects like this are inspiring. Love it.
I should build something this weekend…
Re: Tom Stanton's supersonic trebuchet breaks sound barrier with gravity alone
#6How do you responsibly test something like this? The payload isn't going to follow a ballistic trajectory, it's going to follow an aerodynamic one. You'd probably have to design something special to load into it to aim the damned thing. Which is a road trip to some place very empty in something like a 180º arc. Maybe 225º.
It's shooting 3d printed balls, I imagine they don't stay supersonic for very long. Significantly less dangerous to others than driving a car.
Re: Tom Stanton's supersonic trebuchet breaks sound barrier with gravity alone
#7How do you responsibly test something like this? The payload isn't going to follow a ballistic trajectory, it's going to follow an aerodynamic one. You'd probably have to design something special to load into it to aim the damned thing. Which is a road trip to some place very empty in something like a 180º arc. Maybe 225º.
He has fairly specific mechanically timed release control over it — within 0.5 degrees.
But he also used an extremely lightweight ball projectile — a few grams of 3D printed plastic — because he was only interested in the launch speed. And he pointed it in a direction where there were no people for miles.
Re: Tom Stanton's supersonic trebuchet breaks sound barrier with gravity alone
#8This guy absolutely amazing to watch. He also has a 2nd channel that I only found out a few weeks ago: https://www.youtube.com/@TimStation
Re: Tom Stanton's supersonic trebuchet breaks sound barrier with gravity alone
#9Seems like such an advance in this ancient technology. It would be really cool to see it applied in interesting ways. I really wonder just how effective this could be as a defense system .. the mind wanders with every update Tom makes .. I imagine an aiming/targetting system would make this an effective, easily replenished, low-resource weapon system for some applications. Attacking feral animals, perhaps? How could…
I also loved the video. But I'd think if one wanted to deploy "simple" mechanical projectile weapons at scale, pneumatic launchers would be easier, more compact and more reliable (way less cool-looking and operating, though!).
Re: Tom Stanton's supersonic trebuchet breaks sound barrier with gravity alone
#10This guy absolutely amazing to watch. He also has a 2nd channel that I only found out a few weeks ago: https://www.youtube.com/@TimStation
Not only is it a funny name it also appears in my subscriptions list alphabetically right below the main channel.