Damian Yañez would be nice but it’s not a good mix in terms of expertise, I’m perfectly happy with the people Dustin works with already, and as he only uploads a video once every blue moon, I don’t want that video to be wasted
the Kingdom of GOD is coming…“Silver is for the kettle, and gold for the furnace, but The LORD is the tester of hearts- Bible” your heart is like discovered silver, dirty and not pure, when silver is purified it is melted over and over, to the point that when it’s melted and glows red hot, it is pure enough to see your own reflection in the puddle, so also does the LORD purify your heart, till HE can see HIS own reflection in it, seek the LORD and be reborn, ask The LORD to renew and restore you, repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, Jesus died so that our sins will be wiped away and so that we could be made new, if would be wise you would be wise for yourself, pick up your cross and deny your flesh and follow the path of GOD, for The Kingdom of GOD is at hand, in JESUS MIGHTY NAME Amen and Amen 🙏 o
“Uhh control? We are being attacked by somebody with a trebuchet with wheels. They seem to be launching... almost times two of a golf ball....” “Excuse me what?” “We are being attacked by a youtuber!” “Oh yeah.. him”
@@Alucard-gt1zf Google map have 3D map feature, that feature doesn't use the same method as street view and can be generated from satellite image directly. Though it isn't high resolution enough to be used like this.
@@Boomber123 It's not using satellite data, but rather planes flying over the area with cameras on them. The resolution wouldn't otherwise be sufficient.
the Kingdom of GOD is coming…“Silver is for the kettle, and gold for the furnace, but The LORD is the tester of hearts- Bible” your heart is like discovered silver, dirty and not pure, when silver is purified it is melted over and over, to the point that when it’s melted and glows red hot, it is pure enough to see your own reflection in the puddle, so also does the LORD purify your heart, till HE can see HIS own reflection in it, seek the LORD and be reborn, ask The LORD to renew and restore you, repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, Jesus died so that our sins will be wiped away and so that we could be made new, if would be wise you would be wise for yourself, pick up your cross and deny your flesh and follow the path of GOD, for The Kingdom of GOD is at hand, in JESUS MIGHTY NAME Amen and Amen
You scaled up the golf ball 187%, but you also scaled the dimples by the same amount. I'm wondering if the aerodynamic/drag reducing effect of golf ball dimples is lost when the they are so large. It might be worth it comparing it to a smooth ball for a baseline. Also wondering if the roughness of 3d printing vs the smooth coating on the golf ball plays a part. Great video!
I'd be interested in this comparison too. I think Tom mostly use PLA for his 3D prints. It might be worth giving ABS a try, as it can be smoothed using acetone (PLA can be smooth afaik, but it requires harder to find chemicals). Anyway, most of the energy seems to be lost in the trebuchet itself, the loss due to drag were very low in comparison, so it's probably better to work on that... Ball bearings all around ?
The Cd of a sphere is one of the most volatile. It changes up and down as velocity changes. The Reynold's Number, the viscocity of air, and the density of the sphere factor into what dimple geometry is the best to achieve the greatest altitude. The easiest way to solve it is with a vertical-tube wind tunnel and some differing configurations of ball.
@@HollywoodF1 I calculated Re to be ~2.2E+05 at 41 m/s. According to [1], "shallow" dimples would be best for this setup. Reynold's numbers of this size is in the upper end of what they tested in the lab. [1] www.scirp.org/Journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=85529
Excellent stuff Tom. I calculated the height reached by your tennis ball by simply timing the action from launch to hitting the ground, the average was 7.0 seconds. The fall from the apex therefore took 3.5 seconds, (t) average velocity (v) was t (3.5) x g (9.81)/2 m/sec = 17.2 m/sec distance traveled (height) was v x t = 60.1 m Lines up pretty closely with your way more high tech method :)
Question read exactly like a physics I problem, so the altimeter (while having a very cool design) probably was not required to answer the question. Most drones also have pretty accurate altimeters and could have been parked at various heights looking for the ball to rise to as well that could have probably estimated the height to within a meter or two. That's the only thing I'd change about the video - throw the physics answer and equation up to show it supports the data collected.
@@ferrumignis Ofcourse not! Five is right out.. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it. ~Book of Armaments, Chapter 2, verses 9-21
It wouldn't look that nice. Literally just imagine using the camera on your phone to record and then shaking your phone rapidly. That's what it would look like. Just a bunch of blurry flickering video. - What would be interesting would be for him to put in a 360° camera or an auto balancing camera. (Then you wouldn't have to worry about the swaying)
@@ska042 The dimples aren't for aerodynamics at all. They catch the shockwave of the golf club more efficiently than a smooth sphere, which deflects the energy outwards rather than forwards. The dimples actually increase drag
@@Ethelberd got a source for that? Highly doubt the surface of the ball has more than a marginal effect on how the energy of the club is transferred - the most important aspect there is probably how the inside of the ball behaves, because that determines how flexible or rigid the whole ball is. I stand by my original statement, but if you have some good sources (read: research papers) I'm open to changing my mind
Tom in 2017: air powered model planes! Tom in 2019: launching small payloads into suborbital trajectories Tom in 2021: First human to use a trebuchet to get to orbit?
the trebuchet needs to be at least as high as the lowest point in your desired orbit. So if you want a 100km orbit, you need at least a 100km high trebuchet.
I'm 53 years old, and wish, just wish i had this kind of interest as a kid. I couldn't be bothered to learn and now with a laptop and some 'extra time' i'm tellin ya i find this absolutely fascinating! I have no idea how i'm going to use all this information or if i ever will, but i really enjoyed the video and hope you post more.
I'm nearly 50 and used to mess about with mad stuff like this all the time when I was a kid, but I've found now that I can't be bothered, cos I know if I go on youtube, some kids are already doing it and much better than I would have lol
Don't you just love it when a project works like you hoped it would do?... We heard the excitement when it worked the first time, It was that little natural touch that made me react the same way. Awesome work, and thanks again, my Man.
I wonder how many times he had to knock on his neighbors door and say... "I'm sorry to have bothered you at this untimely hour ma'am but it appears that of only a few moment moments ago my altimeter golf ball unfortunately descended into your pumpkin patch."
You would need a bit less than one ton of mass on that trebuchet to get enough energy to get to the height planes fly at (11km) with perfect energy conversion
Really enjoyed this video thanks for sharing. When I was 10 I took one of my Dad’s handkerchiefs attached strings on the four corners and tied it around the head of one of my WWII army soldiers and would carefully roll it up and send it skyward with a homemade slingshot. There is no telling how many hours I entertained myself with this, my little mind put me in full military dress with a machine gun parachuting down behind enemy lines in Germany somewhere fighting SS Troops. I can still remember lying on my back on the ground watching my army guy slowly floating back to the earth. I’m 70 years old now and watching this video reminded me of this. I have always loved Trebuchets and always wanted one for real. I could never quite get the hang of making one though. Thank you again for the fond memories. 🙏
The trebuchet is without a shadow of a doubt the most effective siege engine known to man. What other structure can launch a 90kg projectile over 300 meters?
you have both altimeter and a accelerometer. why not just coordinate those two to make sure it launches the parachute at 10m height on the way down. have a loop for parachute enable once the acceleration drops (free fall), then have the altimeter trigger the parachute.
Spin of the ball might cause the accelerometer to never be able to detect free fall. The centrifugal force might always keep the accelerometer under load.
@@mihalis1010 I don't know the limits of an arduino controller, but with an altimeter it should be trivial to deploy the parachute immediately after the projectile has reached peak height. Log the height measurements in intervals, then force linear regression on the most recent data points. If the slope of these measurements is negative, then the ball is moving downwards and the parachute should be deployed.
Love your video's, as you stated stuff like this never gets tired. It appeals to the child in all of us. I remember when model rockets first came out, about 50+ years ago. We attached about a dozen motors to a flying saucer we made. No physics or science involved. Trying to ignite all the motors at once. It was a total failure, but what a blast, literally. Keep up the good work.
Watching this channel feels a bit like making all those cool mini-projects you think about, but without the tedium of actually spending the time... Very nice work!
I'd love to see you remake this trebuchet with some glass fiber composite components in order to be able to up the max energy to the kilojoule range. Making DIY glass fiber composite panels/beams/poles is pretty straightforward and inexpensive, and could offer a lot of strength over just wood.
I've been watching your channel for about a year now and this video is far and away the coolest thing you have published. Don't get me wrong, I have enormous respect for all the other projects, but this one takes me back! When I was a little kid growing up in Toms River, NJ (USA), I used to make parachutes out of anything, toss them into the air and watch them fall gently back to earth. Or get stuck in a tree. Or power lines. So this project takes directly back to the times of my youth. Thanks for all your efforts and keep on coming up with new and interesting projects!
Erik Lindbergs I know you smartasses.... I even said they use it in military movies when they want to illuminate something.... They used them in WW1 for night fighting. I just thought that DIYing it would be fun project when he has it practically done he just needs to add flare...
I love your experimentation with this. I've always enjoyed seeing what can be done with a trebuchet. Here are some questions about them in general and some ideas that have popped into my head now and over the years. 1. The usual test of how "good" a trebuchet is how far a projectile can be launched. However, I think altitude is just as good for judging relative performance. 2. I'm unclear as to how you control the release angle for the projectile. It looks like the loop on the line to one side of the projectile carrier just slips off of a peg. Is that correct? If so, what did you have to change to get the projectile to go straight up for max altitude instead of away for maximum range? 3. My hunch is that a precise release angle would help maximize the projectile's total energy at release. What do you think? 4. If there was some kind of disk or cam on the axis of the sling attachment point then a notch in the disk could cause the release of the projectile. Then the angle of that disk could be rotated to precisely control the release angle for optimum flight. Would that be useful or is the present release method precise enough? 5. Is there a way to improve the transfer of the potential energy of the raised weight to the projectile? Your design has essentially three arms. There is the arm (A) with the weights. There is the center arm (B) with the supported pivot point. Lastly there is the arm (C) made of the cords that attaches the projectile carrier to the end of the central arm. I don't think I have the mathematical skill to write the equations that would accurately describe the motion of this system. So I can't answer questions like, how would changing the weight affect the projectile velocity at launch? Would double the weight make the projectile launch at double the velocity? If arm A was lengthened, how would the launch velocity be affected? 6. If we simplified the design to a single arm with weight at one end, a projectile carrier with a release mechanism at the other end and a supported pivot point somewhere in between. The release mechanism would have that disk with a release notch attached to the pivot carrier. This would let us experiment with changing the release angle, the weight and the position of the center pivot on the arm. (Better yet, the equations to describe this system would be much simpler.) I'm going to stop here. I kind of got sucked into trying to understand how this all works. I haven't even talked about the effect of the trebuchet rolling on the wheels might add or subtract energy from the projectile. (Did you talk about that in another video?) Maybe I need to tackle this on my own. It should be possible to simulate these mechanical systems in some software, right? Anyway thanks for making me think.
Solid science there, Mr. Staton. I could not help myself, and measured the time-of-flight for the enlarged golf ball: ~6.8 sec. This equals an altitude of 56.8m. Fairly close to your result. But your method with a self deploying parachute contraption was way cooler.
It is difficult to calculate altitude from time of flight alone if you have no idea of aerodynamic drag vs speed. You could measure the time it takes to go up and then separately the time it takes to go back down to the same altitude it leaves the trebuchet and estimate from there. But you can calculate elevation very accurately using camera and trigonometry assuming the object is launched directly in plane of the moving arm of trebuchet.
Excellent production quality. You could probably package these for schools & teaching as a side business. I've seen 'paid for' training videos less than half the quality of his videos.
First of all... awesome :D. Second, I see two areas during the launch where you're loosing energy towards getting the ball up in the air. Like many have pointed out, the trebuchet is moving on its wheels during launch. That's a lot of wasted energy right there. Second, the position of the ball at rest. Because it first has to drop from the arm, there's a lot of delay from the weight falling, to actually pulling on (and therefor) accelerating the ball. The weight is already about two-thirds down, before it starts applying centripetal force to the ball. If you postion the ball farther away from the center, the arm will start pulling on it earlier, you'll get less of a sudden jolt (the ball is of a relative significant weight compared to the arm's weight) and the speed of the ball will be higher at release.
Can we build a different type of trebuchet that works as a slingshot. Launching the projectile after spinning it for a couple of times before launch. Like a hammer throw. CAN WE ?
You got a like half way through as I was so impressed by the parachute deployment system! Right, back to the video! My favourite phrase - "that never gets old"
Fantastic Tom, I've really enjoyed watching all of your videos, particularly the trebuchet ones but this has been my favourite, Very satisfying watching that parachute deploy first time!!Keep it up .
Would love to see you deploy the parachute as close to the ground as possible ;D nice project that first launch with everything in the ball was amazing!
I've tried to accomplish something similar. Folding technique becomes a huge factor. You need a mechanical way to deploy the chute, relying on drag is too variable to get below a few dozen meters
I cant help but wonder... if you have an altimeter and Arduino, why an accelerometer and timer? Trigger when the altimeter goes down X meters from max height. Im sure there is a good reason, but aside from having 2 separate, redundant, systems, i cant see it. N if one fails, the other is a misfire anyway.
Excellent video Tom. You have provided comprehensive detail and some of the best video editing I've seen on RUclips. Keep up the excellent work. Kind regards, Aaron.
Yea the trebuchet was optimised for the tennis ball, more mass makes it outside this optimised range. Aka an other 5kg on the counterweight might be something to try :)
Hi, Tom, I really liked your video and especially your construction skills and the beauty of a trebuchet you have built. As a former artillery officer with the German Navy I appreciated your topic even more! Just a small hint: When set your artillery piece on wheels, you might loose a lot of energy, because the levered spring-like effect of the trebuchet arm is lowered a lot by the horizontal movement (even in opposing directions) instead of pushing the ball even higher. Fix the machine and it should shoot even higher, I guess... Kind regards, Jan-Erik Schmidt, CDR GE Navy
I'm not a physicist, but your launching device is sitting on wheels with no locks. You could preserve a much higher amount of energy by anchoring the trebuchet to the ground more solidly, and by doing so probably achieve more altitude. I think that the energy that is being used to roll the trebuchet across the ground could be put into actually launching the projectile if it was the launching platform was locked to the ground. That being said, great video -- very informative, highly enjoyable, video liked and channel subscribed to!
Actually, I think smooth ground and wheels on bearings would be best. You certainly wouldn't want to just lock the wheels without staking it to the ground, as it would probably lift one side off the ground. and give it a jolt.
His "optimizing a trebuchet" video addresses this - short answer, it increases efficiency by allowing the counterweight to fall in the straightest line possible, so less energy is lost to rocking back and forth.
ruclips.net/video/KpFTyE-wiNo/видео.html Tom explains it in this video, briefly, by allowing the trebuchet to roll forwards over the counterweight, the counterweight drops slightly further, allowing slightly more energy to be transferred to the projectile.
It's quite late for a reply but I guess that it's mainly inefficient because the energy isn't fully transferred to the object. Maybe a heavier object would get launched equally fast which would lead to higher kinetic energy.
Fascinating and very satisfying, as you say. I was a little surprised that so much more of the efficiency loss was in the launch than in the air friction, but I guess you're right: the golf ball form is indeed very aerodynamic, and the trebuchet probably does have quite a bit of friction and aerodynamic loss itself.
I would like to see a G-load vs. time plot during launch and flight. It should be very high intil sling is released, and then almost zero until the ball reaches its highest point. Then increasing slowly up to 1G as terminal velocity is reached. And then a bump as chute deploys, and 1G during chute descend and then a few G's as the ball hits the ground.
@@nixxonnor i'd say it would be (obviously) quite a lot before / during start, a bit more than 1g during rise, a bit less than 1g going down, bump when parachut / ground also the ball is spinning so there will be some centrifugal force superposed on the other stuff
@@nixxonnor Consider yourself travelling up in a lift (elevator). You only experience that feeling of greater weight whilst the lift is accelerating. Once it has achieved constant velocity, you are back at 1G.
I would note a few things in terms of efficiency here: 1. The long arm is in a lower position at the beginning than it is at the end, so it should be LOWERING the gravitational potential, not adding to it. 2. The long arm DOES experience some serious wind drag, even in that small range. Adding on some fins could help considerably. 3. Given that air resistance is given by F = kv^2, where k = rho*A*C/2, and C can be determined by finding the ball's terminal fall velocity and rho is just the density of the air, you should be able to determine the exact amount of energy lost by the ball, then with some work, extrapolate C for the long arm, further giving you information about whether it's even worth working on #2. It might be the case that it's not worth it, because simple friction about the rotational axis could be the primary culprit in the ~50% energy loss. In any sense, still a fairly decent amount of work right there lol. I had to study the friction forces on a pendulum made out of a yardstick for my senior seminar; it was a pain in the ass :O
I noticed something at 11:55, you're using wheels, to be able to move it around, but not securing the trebuchet when launching. It rolls backwards, stops, then rolls forwards. You know exactly where this is going now, lol. The arm is transferring energy to the wheels, to move it in not just one direction, but stopping and reversing the whole of the mass of the trebuchet. That could possibly be the difference in your calculations vs testing.
Just check his video in which he builds and optimizes the trebuchet. The frame of the trebuchet does not weigh as much as the counterweight, so by moving which one do we loose less energy? -> the lighter one, the frame.
I think he wanted to make sure his solution would work before committing the presumably much more expensive altimeter to a test that could potentially destroy it
@@hunterwilk not that simple but almost, first make sure that it climbed more than 20m in less thant 10 sec otherwise it will open on the ground due to pressure variation
@@vidalroland He could have make the altimeter save data with regular intervals and calculate the diffrence. And set it to deploy when the diffrence becomes negative.
Tom, this video is one of my TOP 3 favorite videos on RUclips of all time! I am becoming interested in Arduino just from your vids! Kudos to you brother! Best of future luck and my regards, Dave.
All Trebuchet build videos are ultimately unsatisfying unless some thing heavy travelling a great distance at great speed, accurately hitting and smashing something sturdy. #NoToTennisBalls
Also for retrieving things out of the tree, id recommend a 1.5 litre bottle filled up about a 4th or 3rd with water & then throw said bottle upwards too get the twig its stuck in, works great for getting drones out of trees if its not too far high up for you too throw the bottle.
@@rogerbeck3018 Haha, nah that will never happen. UK say they have converted, but still they mix everything :D And USA cant see outside of there borders so they think the ALL other countries should convert to measure everything in body parts ;)
Actually, the wheels are important. In a trebuchet, having it "float" by allowing something to move around freely like that (either the arm, or the entire trebuchet) will greatly increase efficiency. If you watch a static trebuchet vs one on wheels, you will see the counterweight on the one with wheels falls nearly vertically, while the static one falls in an arc. This arc motion is a huge waste of energy, as much of the force applied simply goes into trebuchet frame and is lost, while with the wheels, the frame can roll back to put the lost energy back into the projectile. I think it is not as important when launching vertically, but it should still make some difference to give it that freedom of motion.
As I understand it, the wheels actually reduce lost energy by allowing the mass to drop in a straighter line, as well as reducing wear and tear on the structure by keeping it from tipping.
this dude has the wit liken to a natural borne comedian, the elegance of presentation of a master showmen. Good show, chap! Great work on the trebuchet, very neat design!
10:16 can we just take a moment to appreciate this edit?
Came down here to say the same!
12:21 is also impressive
Ikr, that's incredible work right there
That was serious spaceX promo editing!
yep, thought the same :)
I love this
I have always watch your videos and never got bored..... :)
Exploding baseball on 6th sep 2020 was sooo satifying
Yo
you guys need to make a collaboration video plz
Damian Yañez would be nice but it’s not a good mix in terms of expertise, I’m perfectly happy with the people Dustin works with already, and as he only uploads a video once every blue moon, I don’t want that video to be wasted
Well hello there
Mate watching that parachute deploy was beautiful. You are a great engineer!
I agree, your videos are so satisfying! You are a great engineer!! (DARPA should give you an Internship?)
yo @ I did a thing love your vids too!!!
just 8 likes? what?
the Kingdom of GOD is coming…“Silver is for the kettle, and gold for the furnace, but The LORD is the tester of hearts- Bible” your heart is like discovered silver, dirty and not pure, when silver is purified it is melted over and over, to the point that when it’s melted and glows red hot, it is pure enough to see your own reflection in the puddle, so also does the LORD purify your heart, till HE can see HIS own reflection in it, seek the LORD and be reborn, ask The LORD to renew and restore you, repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, Jesus died so that our sins will be wiped away and so that we could be made new, if would be wise you would be wise for yourself, pick up your cross and deny your flesh and follow the path of GOD, for The Kingdom of GOD is at hand, in JESUS MIGHTY NAME Amen and Amen 🙏 o
alex???
14:41 plane in background: "control be advised, we are being attacked by a small red and blue object, over"
"Seems like the Koreans are attacking us Dave"
"North I assume Mr. Wilson?"
"No... the South for once"
“Uhh control? We are being attacked by somebody with a trebuchet with wheels. They seem to be launching... almost times two of a golf ball....”
“Excuse me what?”
“We are being attacked by a youtuber!”
“Oh yeah.. him”
@@scout5988 "You, uh, you do realise that his house is a no-fly zone for this specific reason, right?"
Hilarious joke
Amazing use of a drone ! 10:16 (Not the tree part, that wasn't very smart)
was it drone? i thought it was google maps.
lauris2211 why would google maps have a street view in his backyard?
Tree part?
@@Alucard-gt1zf Google map have 3D map feature, that feature doesn't use the same method as street view and can be generated from satellite image directly. Though it isn't high resolution enough to be used like this.
@@Boomber123 It's not using satellite data, but rather planes flying over the area with cameras on them. The resolution wouldn't otherwise be sufficient.
10:16 Caught me off guard with this incredible edit.
And a bunch of lies.
@@idontcare7961 lmao ok
Landing so close to where it was launched is very satisfying haha
That's a very 21st century comment, isn't it? I doubt an acient trebuchet operator would subscribe to the idea :)
Next thing he knows he'll be working for Space-X (which would be a pretty good thing, eh?).
the Kingdom of GOD is coming…“Silver is for the kettle, and gold for the furnace, but The LORD is the tester of hearts- Bible” your heart is like discovered silver, dirty and not pure, when silver is purified it is melted over and over, to the point that when it’s melted and glows red hot, it is pure enough to see your own reflection in the puddle, so also does the LORD purify your heart, till HE can see HIS own reflection in it, seek the LORD and be reborn, ask The LORD to renew and restore you, repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, Jesus died so that our sins will be wiped away and so that we could be made new, if would be wise you would be wise for yourself, pick up your cross and deny your flesh and follow the path of GOD, for The Kingdom of GOD is at hand, in JESUS MIGHTY NAME Amen and Amen
@@juanit0tackit0tackito2 ok buddy
Your channel makes me want a 3d printer a lot!
The Ender 3 Pro is 200 USD, they’re becoming affordable
do it
I was literally just thinking this!
prusa mini has really good print quality but lacks size.
Both work fabulously
Me too
"Local man arrested trying to take out neighbouring village with medieval siege weapons."
Love it.
Keep up the good work.
It appears that he progressed to attempting to shoot down a jet airliner
by local surely you mean Florida
@@1224chrisng I do mean Florida but don't call me Shirly
Florida Man, Florida Man, doing what a Florida can
I wouldn't be surprised by that.
They are arresting people for having vegetable peelers in the UK so how long until they arrest him for this.
@4:29 love this sentence "this is roughly" then proceeds to give an accurate percentage.
You scaled up the golf ball 187%, but you also scaled the dimples by the same amount. I'm wondering if the aerodynamic/drag reducing effect of golf ball dimples is lost when the they are so large. It might be worth it comparing it to a smooth ball for a baseline. Also wondering if the roughness of 3d printing vs the smooth coating on the golf ball plays a part.
Great video!
I remember mythbuster have some data points on this, they covered a car in golf ball dimple and they were car sized dimples :)
I'd be interested in this comparison too.
I think Tom mostly use PLA for his 3D prints. It might be worth giving ABS a try, as it can be smoothed using acetone (PLA can be smooth afaik, but it requires harder to find chemicals).
Anyway, most of the energy seems to be lost in the trebuchet itself, the loss due to drag were very low in comparison, so it's probably better to work on that... Ball bearings all around ?
The Cd of a sphere is one of the most volatile. It changes up and down as velocity changes. The Reynold's Number, the viscocity of air, and the density of the sphere factor into what dimple geometry is the best to achieve the greatest altitude. The easiest way to solve it is with a vertical-tube wind tunnel and some differing configurations of ball.
@@HollywoodF1 I calculated Re to be ~2.2E+05 at 41 m/s. According to [1], "shallow" dimples would be best for this setup. Reynold's numbers of this size is in the upper end of what they tested in the lab.
[1] www.scirp.org/Journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=85529
Agreed. My thoughts also.
Excellent stuff Tom. I calculated the height reached by your tennis ball by simply timing the action from launch to hitting the ground, the average was 7.0 seconds.
The fall from the apex therefore took 3.5 seconds, (t)
average velocity (v) was t (3.5) x g (9.81)/2 m/sec = 17.2 m/sec
distance traveled (height) was v x t = 60.1 m
Lines up pretty closely with your way more high tech method :)
Question read exactly like a physics I problem, so the altimeter (while having a very cool design) probably was not required to answer the question. Most drones also have pretty accurate altimeters and could have been parked at various heights looking for the ball to rise to as well that could have probably estimated the height to within a meter or two. That's the only thing I'd change about the video - throw the physics answer and equation up to show it supports the data collected.
Now instead of an altimeter ball, use a holy hand grenade.
But don't count to 5.
@@ferrumignis Ofcourse not! Five is right out..
Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it. ~Book of Armaments, Chapter 2, verses 9-21
Bring Forth The Holy Hand Grenade!
Oh Lord, bless this thy hand grenade
@@gert-janclaes3001speech 1000
Launching a Trebuchet Straight UP
Or using a trebuchet to launch a trebuchet
That's what I thought of as well.
Same here!
I feel like I got clickbaited
Eventually we'll see a video where someone launches a trebuchet from a trebuchet.
Launch a GoPro. I wanna see what it looks like
Just imaginging that makes me feel nauseas
360 camera would work better
Spinny
It wouldn't look that nice.
Literally just imagine using the camera on your phone to record and then shaking your phone rapidly.
That's what it would look like.
Just a bunch of blurry flickering video.
-
What would be interesting would be for him to put in a 360° camera or an auto balancing camera.
(Then you wouldn't have to worry about the swaying)
@@Damsel_In_Distress_528 Until the parachute deploys. That would be pretty cool footage.
Tom: what's more aerodynamic than a tennis ball
Me: a golf ball
Tom: a golf ball
Me: *I KNEW IT*
Same here, I felt proud of myself.
Ha ha. Everybody knew it. You can ask why all cars, planes and rockets don't have their bodies full of dents to reduce aerodynamic drag.
@@mareksykora5197 Well, I was thinking water droplet
@@ska042 The dimples aren't for aerodynamics at all. They catch the shockwave of the golf club more efficiently than a smooth sphere, which deflects the energy outwards rather than forwards. The dimples actually increase drag
@@Ethelberd got a source for that? Highly doubt the surface of the ball has more than a marginal effect on how the energy of the club is transferred - the most important aspect there is probably how the inside of the ball behaves, because that determines how flexible or rigid the whole ball is. I stand by my original statement, but if you have some good sources (read: research papers) I'm open to changing my mind
Tom in 2017: air powered model planes!
Tom in 2019: launching small payloads into suborbital trajectories
Tom in 2021: First human to use a trebuchet to get to orbit?
I hate to break it to you, but you can't launch into orbit with a trebuchet.
@@zockertwins **YET**
@@showalk It's physically impossible, you couldn't do it no matter how advanced the trebuchet is.
@@zockertwins What about a very, very large trebuchet?
the trebuchet needs to be at least as high as the lowest point in your desired orbit. So if you want a 100km orbit, you need at least a 100km high trebuchet.
I'm 53 years old, and wish, just wish i had this kind of interest as a kid. I couldn't be bothered to learn and now with a laptop and some 'extra time' i'm tellin ya i find this absolutely fascinating!
I have no idea how i'm going to use all this information or if i ever will, but i really enjoyed the video and hope you post more.
I'm nearly 50 and used to mess about with mad stuff like this all the time when I was a kid, but I've found now that I can't be bothered, cos I know if I go on youtube, some kids are already doing it and much better than I would have lol
Don't you just love it when a project works like you hoped it would do?... We heard the excitement when it worked the first time, It was that little natural touch that made me react the same way.
Awesome work, and thanks again, my Man.
Which galaxy are you from?😂
@@nairsreehari96 Any alien in contact with us would be from our own milky way, most likely. Long distances require serious engineering.
@@polychoron Ya... Else they won't be watching videos on making trebuchet 😂😂😂
I wonder how many times he had to knock on his neighbors door and say...
"I'm sorry to have bothered you at this untimely hour ma'am but it appears that of only a few moment moments ago my altimeter golf ball unfortunately descended into your pumpkin patch."
12:08 Careful! -you almost hit that plane.
Yeah that Dash8's SAM alert probably went off =)
You would need a bit less than one ton of mass on that trebuchet to get enough energy to get to the height planes fly at (11km) with perfect energy conversion
at 14:38 too
He could make a weapon that could hit the plane.
@@jatoxo U seems to be a very funny guy. Im sure people love talking to you at parties
Really enjoyed this video thanks for sharing. When I was 10 I took one of my Dad’s handkerchiefs attached strings on the four corners and tied it around the head of one of my WWII army soldiers and would carefully roll it up and send it skyward with a homemade slingshot. There is no telling how many hours I entertained myself with this, my little mind put me in full military dress with a machine gun parachuting down behind enemy lines in Germany somewhere fighting SS Troops. I can still remember lying on my back on the ground watching my army guy slowly floating back to the earth. I’m 70 years old now and watching this video reminded me of this. I have always loved Trebuchets and always wanted one for real. I could never quite get the hang of making one though. Thank you again for the fond memories. 🙏
The trebuchet is without a shadow of a doubt the most effective siege engine known to man. What other structure can launch a 90kg projectile over 300 meters?
Came looking for this exact comment
A cannon?
@Michael Smith to be sure. Just trolling a bit
Guns on naval ships fire a 150kg projectile nearly 30,000 meters.
@@brainmind4070 Those didn't exist even 100 or so years ago though.
I've been bingeing your videos for the past few days, and this is the best so far. What's more, you've given us the trebuchet CAD files. Yay!
you have both altimeter and a accelerometer. why not just coordinate those two to make sure it launches the parachute at 10m height on the way down.
have a loop for parachute enable once the acceleration drops (free fall), then have the altimeter trigger the parachute.
Spin of the ball might cause the accelerometer to never be able to detect free fall. The centrifugal force might always keep the accelerometer under load.
@@mihalis1010 I don't know the limits of an arduino controller, but with an altimeter it should be trivial to deploy the parachute immediately after the projectile has reached peak height. Log the height measurements in intervals, then force linear regression on the most recent data points. If the slope of these measurements is negative, then the ball is moving downwards and the parachute should be deployed.
It's free fall right after the projectile leaves the treb.
Apogee detection is a solved problem, there's tons of papers on it
every once and a while i find a channel that i fall in love with and binge watch. thank you!!!
Darn you Tom Stanton, I was about to go to work!
I’m going to be cutting it very close!
12:08
It's 2019 and you just invented the first Anti-aircraft trebuchet :D
Next up you should make an RC glider that you can launch with a trebuchet
i think he should make giant golf ball v2 the ball with built in whistle
Rc glider with foldable wings for maximum release velocity.
Combine the above two: make a trebuchet-launched Golden Snitch!
I came here to say this, but you already did, so...Please combine this with FPV.
@@png.broccoli4093 with a built in siren, just like Stukas during WW2 lol
There is NOTHING more satisfying than a well engineered project working on the first attempt. I salute you sir
It’s more efficient than petrol combustion.
Our next step is trebuchet travel.
Yeah, my lumbar discs are all beside themselves with anticipation...
You still need to Power that thing though
@@j.q.higgins2245 Oh they'll definitely be beside themselves after a trebuchet launch
It promises a lot of new sensations !
@@Hugo-pj4bm Yes, human power is 6 times as dirty as the internal combustion engine.
Love your video's, as you stated stuff like this never gets tired. It appeals to the child in all of us. I remember when model rockets first came out, about 50+ years ago. We attached about a dozen motors to a flying saucer we made. No physics or science involved. Trying to ignite all the motors at once. It was a total failure, but what a blast, literally. Keep up the good work.
OMG I absolutely love the edit at 10:16
So satisfyingly awesome
I love the late deployment of the parachute. So cinematic to time stuff to occur at the last sec. Also helps avoid getting stuck
This is seriously the, THE best channel on youtube. I love you man
That escalated quickly....
I take some small offence to that comment Mark Stevensson! Lol
Watching this channel feels a bit like making all those cool mini-projects you think about, but without the tedium of actually spending the time... Very nice work!
I'd love to see you remake this trebuchet with some glass fiber composite components in order to be able to up the max energy to the kilojoule range. Making DIY glass fiber composite panels/beams/poles is pretty straightforward and inexpensive, and could offer a lot of strength over just wood.
Also look at ways to minimize friction at the fulcra.
Nice project. It's good to see someone just having fun while genuinely conducting scientific experimentation!
You nailed the video editing for this one!
I've been watching your channel for about a year now and this video is far and away the coolest thing you have published. Don't get me wrong, I have enormous respect for all the other projects, but this one takes me back! When I was a little kid growing up in Toms River, NJ (USA), I used to make parachutes out of anything, toss them into the air and watch them fall gently back to earth. Or get stuck in a tree. Or power lines. So this project takes directly back to the times of my youth. Thanks for all your efforts and keep on coming up with new and interesting projects!
You could add a flare to the ball and make it look like a spotting flares from movies. You know when they need to illuminate something at night.
Those do exist
Parachute flares already exist.
Erik Lindbergs I know you smartasses.... I even said they use it in military movies when they want to illuminate something.... They used them in WW1 for night fighting. I just thought that DIYing it would be fun project when he has it practically done he just needs to add flare...
@runforitman/Erik Lindbergs, how many trebuchet-launched flares exist, though?
11:28 can we just take another moment to appreciate this precision
Retrieving the parachute was really genius, Maybe! :D Great video Tom I love it.
I love your experimentation with this. I've always enjoyed seeing what can be done with a trebuchet. Here are some questions about them in general and some ideas that have popped into my head now and over the years.
1. The usual test of how "good" a trebuchet is how far a projectile can be launched. However, I think altitude is just as good for judging relative performance.
2. I'm unclear as to how you control the release angle for the projectile. It looks like the loop on the line to one side of the projectile carrier just slips off of a peg. Is that correct? If so, what did you have to change to get the projectile to go straight up for max altitude instead of away for maximum range?
3. My hunch is that a precise release angle would help maximize the projectile's total energy at release. What do you think?
4. If there was some kind of disk or cam on the axis of the sling attachment point then a notch in the disk could cause the release of the projectile. Then the angle of that disk could be rotated to precisely control the release angle for optimum flight. Would that be useful or is the present release method precise enough?
5. Is there a way to improve the transfer of the potential energy of the raised weight to the projectile? Your design has essentially three arms. There is the arm (A) with the weights. There is the center arm (B) with the supported pivot point. Lastly there is the arm (C) made of the cords that attaches the projectile carrier to the end of the central arm. I don't think I have the mathematical skill to write the equations that would accurately describe the motion of this system. So I can't answer questions like, how would changing the weight affect the projectile velocity at launch? Would double the weight make the projectile launch at double the velocity? If arm A was lengthened, how would the launch velocity be affected?
6. If we simplified the design to a single arm with weight at one end, a projectile carrier with a release mechanism at the other end and a supported pivot point somewhere in between. The release mechanism would have that disk with a release notch attached to the pivot carrier. This would let us experiment with changing the release angle, the weight and the position of the center pivot on the arm. (Better yet, the equations to describe this system would be much simpler.)
I'm going to stop here. I kind of got sucked into trying to understand how this all works. I haven't even talked about the effect of the trebuchet rolling on the wheels might add or subtract energy from the projectile. (Did you talk about that in another video?) Maybe I need to tackle this on my own. It should be possible to simulate these mechanical systems in some software, right? Anyway thanks for making me think.
Golf. Ball. That parachute and data package design is absolutely brilliant!
The fact that you put a tiny screen that shows you how high the ball went is enough to impress me. Hats off to you.
Solid science there, Mr. Staton.
I could not help myself, and measured the time-of-flight for the enlarged golf ball: ~6.8 sec. This equals an altitude of 56.8m. Fairly close to your result. But your method with a self deploying parachute contraption was way cooler.
It is difficult to calculate altitude from time of flight alone if you have no idea of aerodynamic drag vs speed. You could measure the time it takes to go up and then separately the time it takes to go back down to the same altitude it leaves the trebuchet and estimate from there. But you can calculate elevation very accurately using camera and trigonometry assuming the object is launched directly in plane of the moving arm of trebuchet.
5:30 I love the whistle sound it makes
Such good production quality, nice edits, good explanations, overall just super clean, I love the way this channel is going gw Tom!
Excellent production quality. You could probably package these for schools & teaching as a side business. I've seen 'paid for' training videos less than half the quality of his videos.
First of all... awesome :D. Second, I see two areas during the launch where you're loosing energy towards getting the ball up in the air. Like many have pointed out, the trebuchet is moving on its wheels during launch. That's a lot of wasted energy right there. Second, the position of the ball at rest. Because it first has to drop from the arm, there's a lot of delay from the weight falling, to actually pulling on (and therefor) accelerating the ball. The weight is already about two-thirds down, before it starts applying centripetal force to the ball. If you postion the ball farther away from the center, the arm will start pulling on it earlier, you'll get less of a sudden jolt (the ball is of a relative significant weight compared to the arm's weight) and the speed of the ball will be higher at release.
Holy shit! That pan at 10.15 was PERFECT video editing!
You really are one of the guys I would call a role model in my life! Amazing stuff!
Can we build a different type of trebuchet that works as a slingshot.
Launching the projectile after spinning it for a couple of times before launch. Like a hammer throw.
CAN WE ?
You got a like half way through as I was so impressed by the parachute deployment system!
Right, back to the video!
My favourite phrase - "that never gets old"
Incredible visulisation!
Fantastic Tom, I've really enjoyed watching all of your videos, particularly the trebuchet ones but this has been my favourite, Very satisfying watching that parachute deploy first time!!Keep it up .
Would love to see you deploy the parachute as close to the ground as possible ;D nice project that first launch with everything in the ball was amazing!
I've tried to accomplish something similar. Folding technique becomes a huge factor. You need a mechanical way to deploy the chute, relying on drag is too variable to get below a few dozen meters
I cant help but wonder... if you have an altimeter and Arduino, why an accelerometer and timer? Trigger when the altimeter goes down X meters from max height. Im sure there is a good reason, but aside from having 2 separate, redundant, systems, i cant see it. N if one fails, the other is a misfire anyway.
Excellent video Tom. You have provided comprehensive detail and some of the best video editing I've seen on RUclips. Keep up the excellent work. Kind regards, Aaron.
Ball stuck in tree
Me: I bet he tries the stupid thing...
Tom: Tries the stupid thing
Me: SCORE!
Seeing that parachute deploy perfectly every single time is unbelievably satisfying
so... where is the part where you toss the actual Trebuchet up?
Can’t believe how much this channel has grown since I started watching it well done 👍
Aw man, I was so happy along with you when the chute deploys successfully. Feels good man :)
I think that's the most successful project I've seen you do and it is interesting.
You might be losing energy through the wheels. I think this would be worth revisiting with the wheels sandbagged.
Really interesting video
See his video on this- the wheels increase efficiency
You shared your design so everyone can make it at home. What a guy!
Now scale it up and launch that tennis ball into the clouds.
Yea the trebuchet was optimised for the tennis ball, more mass makes it outside this optimised range. Aka an other 5kg on the counterweight might be something to try :)
Awesome video, glad you added the unsuccessful launches/landings to show things don't always go to plan for you as well as us.
Your neighbors must love you :-)
Hi, Tom, I really liked your video and especially your construction skills and the beauty of a trebuchet you have built. As a former artillery officer with the German Navy I appreciated your topic even more! Just a small hint: When set your artillery piece on wheels, you might loose a lot of energy, because the levered spring-like effect of the trebuchet arm is lowered a lot by the horizontal movement (even in opposing directions) instead of pushing the ball even higher. Fix the machine and it should shoot even higher, I guess... Kind regards, Jan-Erik Schmidt, CDR GE Navy
Professional quality!!
This is the best use of a Trebuchet I've seen, spectacular execution and explanation!
Damn thats so cool! The animation must've been a lot of work ;)
WOW, Thumbs up for the drone footage edited with the ball. Great work!
Please do a video where you explore even more efficiency increasing methods
I'm not a physicist, but your launching device is sitting on wheels with no locks. You could preserve a much higher amount of energy by anchoring the trebuchet to the ground more solidly, and by doing so probably achieve more altitude. I think that the energy that is being used to roll the trebuchet across the ground could be put into actually launching the projectile if it was the launching platform was locked to the ground. That being said, great video -- very informative, highly enjoyable, video liked and channel subscribed to!
Actually, I think smooth ground and wheels on bearings would be best. You certainly wouldn't want to just lock the wheels without staking it to the ground, as it would probably lift one side off the ground. and give it a jolt.
I enjoy your enthusiasm and ingenuity. I noticed the trebuchet lurches forward during launch. Does that contribute to inefficiency?
it's exactly waht I am thinking, I think that is a loss of kinetic energy !
His "optimizing a trebuchet" video addresses this - short answer, it increases efficiency by allowing the counterweight to fall in the straightest line possible, so less energy is lost to rocking back and forth.
ruclips.net/video/KpFTyE-wiNo/видео.html Tom explains it in this video, briefly, by allowing the trebuchet to roll forwards over the counterweight, the counterweight drops slightly further, allowing slightly more energy to be transferred to the projectile.
It's quite late for a reply but I guess that it's mainly inefficient because the energy isn't fully transferred to the object. Maybe a heavier object would get launched equally fast which would lead to higher kinetic energy.
Fascinating and very satisfying, as you say. I was a little surprised that so much more of the efficiency loss was in the launch than in the air friction, but I guess you're right: the golf ball form is indeed very aerodynamic, and the trebuchet probably does have quite a bit of friction and aerodynamic loss itself.
6:45 I'm curious why you didn't make the pin trigger when the accelerometer detects 0 G's after high G's?
I would like to see a G-load vs. time plot during launch and flight. It should be very high intil sling is released, and then almost zero until the ball reaches its highest point. Then increasing slowly up to 1G as terminal velocity is reached. And then a bump as chute deploys, and 1G during chute descend and then a few G's as the ball hits the ground.
@@nixxonnor i'd say it would be (obviously) quite a lot before / during start, a bit more than 1g during rise, a bit less than 1g going down, bump when parachut / ground
also the ball is spinning so there will be some centrifugal force superposed on the other stuff
it would triggered even before it is deployed!
@@dpro369 why? at rest is is always at 1 G. To reach 0 Gs, it needs to go from 1 g to greater than 1, then to 0 at the apogee, then back to 1 again.
@@nixxonnor Consider yourself travelling up in a lift (elevator). You only experience that feeling of greater weight whilst the lift is accelerating. Once it has achieved constant velocity, you are back at 1G.
I would note a few things in terms of efficiency here:
1. The long arm is in a lower position at the beginning than it is at the end, so it should be LOWERING the gravitational potential, not adding to it.
2. The long arm DOES experience some serious wind drag, even in that small range. Adding on some fins could help considerably.
3. Given that air resistance is given by F = kv^2, where k = rho*A*C/2, and C can be determined by finding the ball's terminal fall velocity and rho is just the density of the air, you should be able to determine the exact amount of energy lost by the ball, then with some work, extrapolate C for the long arm, further giving you information about whether it's even worth working on #2. It might be the case that it's not worth it, because simple friction about the rotational axis could be the primary culprit in the ~50% energy loss.
In any sense, still a fairly decent amount of work right there lol. I had to study the friction forces on a pendulum made out of a yardstick for my senior seminar; it was a pain in the ass :O
I noticed something at 11:55, you're using wheels, to be able to move it around, but not securing the trebuchet when launching. It rolls backwards, stops, then rolls forwards.
You know exactly where this is going now, lol.
The arm is transferring energy to the wheels, to move it in not just one direction, but stopping and reversing the whole of the mass of the trebuchet.
That could possibly be the difference in your calculations vs testing.
Just check his video in which he builds and optimizes the trebuchet. The frame of the trebuchet does not weigh as much as the counterweight, so by moving which one do we loose less energy? -> the lighter one, the frame.
Oh wow! I first found your channel when there was only one trebuchet video. I’m glad youtube’s algorithm sent me back here. Subscribed!
Hi, great video as always.
The accelerometer solution is very efficient but why not using the altimeter ?
that's what I was thinking. it's got an arduino, just tell it to wait until the altimeter starts losing altitude?
I think he wanted to make sure his solution would work before committing the presumably much more expensive altimeter to a test that could potentially destroy it
@@OrbitalRose_01 oh, duh, yeah that makes sense.
@@hunterwilk not that simple but almost, first make sure that it climbed more than 20m in less thant 10 sec otherwise it will open on the ground due to pressure variation
@@vidalroland
He could have make the altimeter save data with regular intervals and calculate the diffrence. And set it to deploy when the diffrence becomes negative.
Tom, this video is one of my TOP 3 favorite videos on RUclips of all time! I am becoming interested in Arduino just from your vids! Kudos to you brother! Best of future luck and my regards, Dave.
All Trebuchet build videos are ultimately unsatisfying unless some thing heavy travelling a great distance at great speed, accurately hitting and smashing something sturdy. #NoToTennisBalls
Well done, you're a genius! The parachute deployment system worked beautifully!
"Golf balls are famous for their dimple-shaped-"
Dimples. Please say dimples.
"-aerodynamic properties..."
Aww...
Maybe he said dimpled shape ^^
Also for retrieving things out of the tree, id recommend a 1.5 litre bottle filled up about a 4th or 3rd with water & then throw said bottle upwards too get the twig its stuck in, works great for getting drones out of trees if its not too far high up for you too throw the bottle.
You are a smart man, why do you mix imperial and metrics? :P
The ball travels in miles per hour, and a distance of meters? ;)
trying to keep the non metric world on side. they will change at some time in the future
@@rogerbeck3018 Haha, nah that will never happen. UK say they have converted, but still they mix everything :D
And USA cant see outside of there borders so they think the ALL other countries should convert to measure everything in body parts ;)
@@ericandresen680 Body parts, atomic parts, electromagnetic parts - whatever...
he is brit and they use miles per hour for speed but otherwise metric
Absolutely great design. Great effectivity. Would not beleive you could get so hight. Expected something about 15 per cent.
Next time lock the wheels.
Movement of the trebuchet is robbing energy from the object being thrown.
Love your knowledge and enthusiasm. 👍👍
Actually, the wheels are important. In a trebuchet, having it "float" by allowing something to move around freely like that (either the arm, or the entire trebuchet) will greatly increase efficiency. If you watch a static trebuchet vs one on wheels, you will see the counterweight on the one with wheels falls nearly vertically, while the static one falls in an arc. This arc motion is a huge waste of energy, as much of the force applied simply goes into trebuchet frame and is lost, while with the wheels, the frame can roll back to put the lost energy back into the projectile. I think it is not as important when launching vertically, but it should still make some difference to give it that freedom of motion.
you are officially my new favorite youtube channel. Thanks Tom for your incredible videos.
Do a vid on dropping a ball touching a ball and when they hit ground the top one is fired into space (nearly? ) lol
Never let balls touch. Thats gay.
@@ErikB605 ..unless its your own two 😂
i LOVE your videos. Actually been watching them all weekend. EXCELLET
If I ever become a dad.... My son will never watch this video, otherwise I'll never be asked to play catch again =D.
I'll build it for my enemies son
Simply stand a few hundred yards apart and play trebuchet catch.
The design of that oversized 3D printed golf ball, with parachute, is amazing!
Nice job!
The whole trebuchet is moving/driving left to right each "shot", some wasted kinetic energy I believe.
As I understand it, the wheels actually reduce lost energy by allowing the mass to drop in a straighter line, as well as reducing wear and tear on the structure by keeping it from tipping.
Thanks a lot for drawing and uploading the plans!
Pewdiepie wants to know your location
this dude has the wit liken to a natural borne comedian, the elegance of presentation of a master showmen. Good show, chap!
Great work on the trebuchet, very neat design!