Cease Fire!

Due to current weather conditions, we will not be firing our cannons until the spring, so until then . . .

comment on blog :)

Enjoy!

~Samantha Diane :)

Math Component

Step 1: Identify the equation.
• When subbing in the appropriate values, the equation is h= -16t2+192t+32, with 192 being the initial velocity and 32 being the starting height.

Step 2: Identify your variables.
• A: -16
• B: 192
• C: 32

Step 3: Find the time (t)
• To find t you use the quadratic formula: -b±√(b2-4ac)/2a
• Sub in the values of a, b, and c as verified above.
• -(192)±√((1922)-(4*-16*32))/2(-16)
• This equation simplifies to -192±(√38912)/-32 = -.166 or 12.16
• Considering it is not possible to have a negative time, 12.16 is (t)≈12 seconds

Step 4: Find the height (h)
• To find the height, you must find first the x-coordinate of the vertex. This can be found in the equation x= -b/2a
• Sub in the above values to get -192/2(-16) which computes to 6.
• Next you have to simply sub in 6 for x (t) in the equation to get the y-coordinate (height)
h= -16t2+192t+32.
• h=-16(6)2+192(6)+32 which simplifies to h= -576+1152+32= 608 ft

Final Answer:
• Quadratic Model: h= -16t2+192t+32
• How high does the cannonball go? 608 ft
• How long is the cannonball in the air? 12 seconds

Weapons of Mass Destruction

The qualifications to be a WMD are:

• uses projectile motion to launch the ammunition
•  the killing of humans and other wildlife
• destruction of natural landmarks (mountains, rivers, etc)
• destruction of man-made objects (buildings, railroads, etc)

So,  by definition, cannons are considered weapons of mass destruction because they meet all four of the qualifications!


There are four types of WMDs:

• Biological
• Chemical
• Nuclear
• Radiological

Biological weaponry uses diseases or other harmful substances to cause destruction.

       Ex/ variola major (a severe form of smallpox)

Chemical weaponry uses chemicals to harm many life forms.

       Ex/ Chlorine

Nuclear Warfare uses nuclear reactions to cause harm man-made objects,  natural landmarks, and life forms. These WMDs cause long term effects on societies and could polute the atmosphere. 

       Ex/ Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Radiological warfare uses radiation poisoning without relying on nuclear fission/fusion.

       Ex/ Salted bomb

I don't agree with any type of weapon of mass destruction because no good comes from them. Lives of innocent people are being taken, and they could possibly infect an area for years. Even if you kill the one person you wanted to, or knock down the one building, too much destruction will be caused to make it worth it.

Enlglish Component: A Long Way Gone Ethics

Ethics of Weapon Development:

I don't find any morality in developing weapons without a good reason because cannons are only good for destruction and harming others. The only time cannon would be beneficial to society is if it would terminate a specific person/group who is trying to bring harm to many innocent people. Even then, when planning to use a cannon there should be a thought out plan so there is a less of a chance that possibly thousands of innocent civilians will be killed. I think that unless cannons are being used, they should be locked up to prevent the deaths of many innocent people. Killing people used to be a skill that came with years of practice, and even then very few people could be killed at a time by using a sword or bow. Now, all it takes is some aim and the capability to pull a trigger. Now, there is practically no skill needed to kill someone, or a large group of people.

A great example of how weapons only bring harm and chaos to many people is in A Long Way Gone. Ishmael Beah, along with countless other child soldiers, were forced to use disastrous weapons such as grenades and AK-47s. During the Sierra Leone War, hundreds of thousands of innocent people were killed. Drugs, war movies, and other surrounding influences made the boys have no other choice but to ruin their lives, and many others, to live. While the drugs temporarily made them emotionless killing machines, after they had been removed from the war  the soldiers' lives were changed forever by what they've seen and done. As I have said above, it was easy for Ishmael to kill people because there was really no skill involved. Not much training was required and he still shamelessly killed thousands with ease because they didn't know any better. Ishmael and other soldiers had become so brain washed that killing became a second nature.

In conclusion, I am generally against the use and creation of weapons unless there is a specific, good, reason that in the end will help mankind.

Chemistry Comonent

Angle of Cannon:
 The first thing our group decided was to have the cannon shoot at a 45* angle, as stated below. We all thought that with a 45* angle, the cannon would have the perfect balance of height and distance, making it the best possible launch available.

Gas Law: Boyle's Law:
 As you can see below, our group decided that having a small combustion chamber would be best because Boyle's Law states that with a decrease in volume, you get an increase in pressure. We thought it would be just as simple as that: cut the cannon to be really small, but we noticed there was much more to it than that. We realized that if we cut the cannon too small, oxygen would become the limiting reagent instead of the ethanol, resulting in a incomplete reaction. (No reaction= No BOOM!) :)

Balanced Equation:
As with all combustion reactions, the format for the equation is C_xH_x + O₂ → CO₂ + H₂O . The chemical formula of ethanol is C₂H₅OH. As you can see to the right, the chemical equation for this reaction is C₂H₅OH + O₂ → CO₂ + H₂O. Next, all you have to do is balance, as I also did to the right.

 Final Equation:  
C₂H₅OH + O₂ → 2CO₂ + 3H₂O

Designing Our Cannon

 Brainstorming:

At first, no one had any ideas, but then we began playing around with the cannons and thought of putting on its side with the the can laying across it. This way, the cannon would not tip over . . . but it would roll. Eli said it would be good to have a small barrel, so we thought we could use the part we cut off, but we didn't know for what, so we decided to work on that as we go. I didn't understand how the cannons would stay together sturdily, so I suggested to cut a part out of the base to make it more stable. Once we had our general idea, we decided to just go with it.

 Building Process:

 

Step One:

Obtain the materials seen in the photo:

1. Two tennins ball cans

2. A pair of scissors

3. 18in of tape

Assumed Materials:
1. Protractor/Ruler
2. Marker

Step Two: 

Draw the design that is going to be 

used to biuld your cannon.  

Bob and I begin marking where we are going to cut

 Step Three:

We began building the cannon. We decided to have a small cut in the base so the barrel could "sit" in it.  

I begin cutting bit base while using my death grip. Cute :)

Step Four:
We start to cut the base making it big enough for the barrell to lay in.

Bob adds cutting marks to the barrel

Step Five:

Marking the place we were going to cut the barrell, we made the cut so that their was only half of the barrell left. We did this so that there wouldnt be enough space for the gas to expand.   

 

Step Six:

We cut the tennis ball can about halfway down or about 5in, from  the rim. This also made it 

easier for us to use a fourty-five degree angle. We chose that angle so that the cannon would 

shoot a greater distance. 

Sarah trims down our extra support system at the end to ensure our 45* angle!

Step 7: We decided to use the part of the barrel we cut as an attachment to the end of it so our cannon would not roll and to ensure it would stay at a 45* angle.

Final Product

Conclusion:
As expected, we did run into some errors:

1.      The tape only stuck to itself

2.       It was hard to punch a hole in the can to start cutting without thinking it would break apart

3.      Measuring an angle against two cylinders is harder than it looks

4.       Having to keep making small cuts became annoying, but you didn’t want to make a cut that was too big (you can always take away, but once you cut it off you can’t put it back on.) 

Overall, I think our group worked fairly well together. By building our cannon as we go and dealing with issues as they happened, I think we made the best cannon we could.

Enlgish: Citation

"Big Guns at Gettysburg." U.S. National Park Service - Experience Your America. May 1998. 06 Jan. 2011 .

"Falconet (cannon)." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 17 Jan. 2011. 20 Jan. 2011 .

"Gatling gun." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 29 Jan. 2011. 31 Jan. 2011 .

"QF 2 pounder naval gun." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 14 Dec. 2010. 10 Jan. 2011 .

"Tsar Bell and Tsar Canon in the Moscow Kremlin, Russia." Moscow-Taxi.Com - travel and event guide for Moscow Russia. 10 Jan. 2011 .

"Tsar Cannon." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 19 Nov. 2010. 09 Jan. 2011 .