03-15-2010, 02:52 PM
Quote:Duncan, as you have noted Heron's cheiroballistra text does indicate symmetrically opposed forks of greatly different length. They are also curved while the Orsova's appear to have been straight.I'm afraid this curvature was another of Marsden's "improvements". If he had published the manuscript illustrations, he might have realised his error. (But the manuscript illustrations are by no means perfect -- they show the forks as being the same length, although the text clearly states that they weren't.)
Quote:It is akin to using the assembly manual for a rifle to reconstruct a cannon.I don't think the difference was as great as that, Randi -- that's my humble opinion, at any rate. The ancients were used to scaling their catapults up and down. But I totally agree that, scaling a machine up, new problems will appear that require to be addressed -- the winch and the stand are just two of the most obvious ones, but stresses and strains will multiply, too.
