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Toys Technology

Build Your Own Mortar 338

Posted by michael from the stand-waaay-back dept.
Ant sends this link about a home-made mortar. Now all he needs is explosive shells and a good tripod...
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Build Your Own Mortar More

Build Your Own Mortar

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  • Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by l810c ( 551591 ) * on Friday October 03, 2003 @09:59PM (#7129904)
    I remember building tennis ball cannons years ago. A lot of fun. But this thing could be lethal in more ways than one.

    Are these things legal? In every state?

    Slashdot effect + 'Build Your Own Motor', we may have just set off Echelon alarms

    • Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Erick the Red ( 684990 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:05PM (#7129940)
      Assuming the site is from the US, I don't see why it would or should be illegal. What is more dangerous to the public, a psycho with a homemade mortar or a psycho with a semi-automatic handgun. I guess the mortar would be able to do some serious structural damage, but I can do some serious damage with my car, and more idiots drive than build their own cannons.

      • Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart? (Score:5, Funny)

        by irving47 ( 73147 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:12PM (#7129983) Homepage
        Heh. Good points. But are you implying the legal system of any state (or federal level) could withstand that level of common sense?

      • From the other posts here, I gather that BATF categorizes these things as "destructive devices" and therefore a license is required to possess or manufacture them.

        This might also be a general product safety issue. You're not allowed to use homemade propane cylinders, either--they have to have them inspected and tested. It's not because propane cylinders are inherently dangerous when used correctly, or even because you're expected to do something stupid with them. It's because if you screw up the manufa

    • As of about 10 years ago, federal law stated that a person could own a breach loader no more than .50 cal without a special license. HOWEVER, there were no restrictions that I could find on muzzle loaders. Want a cannon with an 8-foot bore? Go for it, just as long as the projectile and charge go in the same way they come out. Technically, that thing is 50-state legal.

      • Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart? (Score:5, Informative)

        by mlyle ( 148697 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:22PM (#7130030)
        BS.

        12301. (a) The term "destructive device," as used in this chapter, shall include any of the following weapons:
        (1) Any projectile containing any explosive or incendiary material or any other chemical substance, including, but not limited to, that which is commonly known as tracer or incendiary ammunition, except tracer ammunition manufactured for use in shotguns.
        (2) Any bomb, grenade, explosive missile, or similar device or any launching device therefor.
        (3) Any weapon of a caliber greater than 0.60 caliber which fires fixed ammunition, or any ammunition therefor, other than a shotgun (smooth or rifled bore) conforming to the definition of a "destructive device" found in subsection (b) of Section 179.11 of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations, shotgun ammunition (single projectile or shot), antique rifle, or an antique cannon. For purposes of this section, the term "antique cannon" means any cannon manufactured before January 1, 1899, which has been rendered incapable of firing or for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade. The term "antique rifle" means a firearm conforming to the definition of an "antique firearm" in Section 179.11 of Title 27 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
        (4) Any rocket, rocket-propelled projectile, or similar device of a diameter greater than 0.60 inch, or any launching device therefor, and any rocket, rocket-propelled projectile, or similar device containing any explosive or incendiary material or any other chemical substance, other than the propellant for such device, except such devices as are designed primarily for emergency or distress signaling purposes.
        (5) Any breakable container which contains a flammable liquid with a flashpoint of 150 degrees Fahrenheit or less and has a wick or similar device capable of being ignited, other than a device which is commercially manufactured primarily for the purpose of illumination.
        (6) Any sealed device containing dry ice (CO2) or other chemically reactive substances assembled for the purpose of causing an explosion by a chemical reaction.
        (b) The term "explosive," as used in this chapter, shall mean any explosive defined in Section 12000 of the Health and Safety Code.

        12303. Any person, firm, or corporation who, within this state, possesses any destructive device, other than fixed ammunition of a caliber greater than .60 caliber, except as provided by this chapter, is guilty of a public offense and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed one year, or in state prison, or by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or by both such fine and imprisonment

        And no, it's not considered a shotgun. And this has been the law for a -long- time.
        • County Jail. Is this County Law or Federal?
        • I'm having a hard time figuring out what this is quoted from.

          It doesn't match Title 18 section 921 of the U.S. Code, which is the standard for federal weapon definitions (though they technically only apply to Chapter 44 of Title 18).

          Your text also refers to Section 179 of Title 27, which I can't even find (Title 27 covers intoxicating liquids and nearly all of it was repealed).

          You can view Title 18 secion 921 here: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/htm_hl?DB=usc o de18&STEMMER=en&URL=/uscode [cornell.edu]

        • its legal becouse the key word is FIXED Ammuntion. its not Fixed ammuntion becouse its not a self contained cartridge

        • Re:Cool, Yes. Legal? Smart? (Score:5, Informative)

          by plsuh ( 129598 ) <plsuhNO@SPAMgoodeast.com> on Friday October 03, 2003 @11:04PM (#7130230) Homepage
          (3) Any weapon of a caliber greater than 0.60 caliber which fires
          fixed ammunition, or any ammunition therefor, other than a shotgun (smooth or rifled bore)
          "Fixed ammunition" is ammunition that contains both the propellant charge and the projectile in a single unit, like a rifle cartridge. The mortar in this article uses separate-loading ammunition, with the propellant charge and the projectile loaded separately, and is not covered by this clause. (That's not to say that it might not be covered under some other clause, like 12302 which is not quoted. But it doesn't appear to be covered by 12301.)
          the term "antique cannon" means any cannon manufactured before January 1, 1899, which has been
          rendered incapable of firing or for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.
          This subclause makes me really question the truth of the whole post. Why on earth would a cannon that is "rendered incapable of firing" be considered a destructive device? I suppose you could use it as a battering ram, but then it's functionally no different from a big steel I-beam.

          --Paul
        • If anyone asks him, it's a big metal flowerpot. See? Even has the little drainage hole so the dirt doesn't get waterlogged.
        • I guess I'll have to buy .55 calibur pumpkins, then.

        • Slashdot... (Score:2, Funny)

          by DarthVeda ( 569302 )
          News for Nerds... and Militia members.
    • Are these things legal?

      Black powder muzzle loaders tend to be far less restricted than other fire arms. I'm not sure how this would stand, though.

    • like a spud gun (Score:5, Interesting)

      by The Tyro ( 247333 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:20PM (#7130022)
      We used to build smaller variants of this idea out of pvc.

      Big piece of PVC pipe (capped on one end, natch). Spray some hair spray in, stuff a potatoe into the end, and connect a battery to a model-rocket solar igniter you have in the bottom (get behind something in case the PVC fails).

      Kaboom!

      We found, after much experimentation, that there was quite a difference in the potential energy of various hair-spray products (which we had, of course, five-finger discounted from our mothers). "The Dry Look" turned out to be the most energetic brand.

      • and connect a battery to a model-rocket solar igniter

        Forget lugging a battery around and wasting rocket igniters...I'll go you one better! Go to a hardware store and get a gas barbecue igniter (the kind with the pushbutton that you click and it sparks) and drill a hole in the side and screw the igniter in.

        I also use a 2" pipe for the barell and a 2" to 6 or 8" adapter with a short length of the large diameter and a cap. Works real good!

        • Safety reasons (Score:4, Funny)

          by The Tyro ( 247333 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @11:21PM (#7130303)
          The reason we used the ignitors and some long wires was so that we could get behind something before firing it up. Young as we were, we weren't totally stupid (and we'd had some close calls).

          In fact, some of the heavier ordinance we built required detonation by remote control (we had an almost unlimited supply of gunpowder, and thus got into plenty of mischief). Not that we were that bright, we had just watched enough old war movies to realize that we didn't want any shrapnel in us, and understood that sometimes things fragment violently when exposed to high pressures. We cannibalized circuit boards out of an old remote-control car (plus some RadioShack project boxes)... it kept our precious little hides out of the Emergency Room.

          Those were the days.
      • Spray some hair spray in, stuff a potatoe...

        Thanks Dan! Your legacy lives on...

      • connect a battery to a model-rocket solar igniter

        I've seen these pre-made for sale at gun shows. They had a clean out plug you could screw out to inject the ligher fluid. The center of the plug had been drilled and long butane lighter, the kind used to light charcoal, hot glued into it.

        Great christmas presents for nephews you want to get rid of...

    • I was just wondering is anywere mentioned in the legal system that you cannot build a nuke?

  • Anyone want to bet how long until he (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:00PM (#7129908)
    ends up in Gitmo?

  • Uhh!! Editors... (Score:5, Funny)

    by antdude ( 79039 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:01PM (#7129912) Homepage Journal
    "Now all he needs is explosive shells and a good tripod..."

    Uh, I do NOT need those items. Maybe the guy who built the mortar does! ;)

  • Only four ounces of powder (Score:4, Funny)

    by Caractacus Potts ( 74726 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:03PM (#7129922)
    Wow. That doesn't seem like much. They must have had a lot of self control. I would have poured a lot more than that into a pipe that big.

    • Re:Only four ounces of powder (Score:5, Funny)

      by DoraLives ( 622001 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:16PM (#7130005)
      I would have poured a lot more than that into a pipe that big.

      But only one time.

    • Re:Only four ounces of powder (Score:5, Interesting)

      by glenebob ( 414078 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:18PM (#7130018)
      And you would have likely just wasted it. 4 ounces is quite a bit when you're talking about black powder (or a synthetic thereof), and that barrel is pretty short.

      That said... I probably would try more too :-)
    • Most people SERIOUSLY underestimate the power of gunpowder and explosives. I guess this comes from too many movies showing the hero surviving handgranates detonatin 5 feet away act.

      "a few ounces" is around the payload of a normal offensive hand granate. A AIM-9J missile has less then a pound of explosives in the warhead and can destroy a jet fighter.

      I once tried what happened if you take about 5 grams of nitrocellusoses and fire it closely enough confined that a deflagration to detonation transition happe
  • "Hey man, I think there's still some powder down there"

  • Yeah, right (Score:5, Funny)

    by worst_name_ever ( 633374 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:03PM (#7129929)
    Oh sure, you'll think you're all smart, saving money by making your own mortar... until your bricks stop sticking together and your fancy new house falls apart!

    (who needs to RTFA when misreading the article subject is more fun?)

    • Maybe the guy is a ... get ready for it ... a mortician!
    • I knew a family in Brazil that was adding a room to their house. The had enough money for the bricks, but the were running out on the mortar mix. Adding extra sand to the mix seemed to make one bag of mix last longer, so they did that. The next big rainstorm (about a week later) caused the walls of the addition to collapse. That same night I helped pull a VW Beetle out of a 4 foot deep mud hole that opened up in the road.

    • Re:Yeah, right (Score:3, Funny)

      by daeley ( 126313 ) *
      You think that's bad? When I saw the headline, I immediately thought "What about the pestle?"

  • Cool! (Score:5, Funny)

    by NanoGator ( 522640 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:04PM (#7129931) Homepage Journal
    Hey McBride! Catch!

  • Big Pipe... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by c_oflynn ( 649487 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:05PM (#7129939)
    So pretty much, all you need is a heafty pipe and a slight dose of insanity?

    Reminds me of a story one of my friends told me. Around where I live they have a few of those old cannons, that have been sealed up, I assumed so people didn't put garbage in them.

    Anyway this guy when he was a teen found some gunpowder (this was before the cannons were sealed), put it down the cannon, and put a hunk of metal on it... the result was the metal flew through a [empty] train-car! Hmm...

    • Re:Big Pipe... (Score:2, Informative)

      by qubex ( 206736 )
      So pretty much, all you need is a heafty pipe and a slight dose of insanity?

      You need a hefty pipe that has been welded shut on one end and a hefty dose of insanity. Barrel-testing is an intricate form of engineering and if that thing were to fragment the shrapnel would sever your torso as if it were paper.

    • Re:Big Pipe... (Score:3, Interesting)

      by s0l0m0n ( 224000 )
      You also need a damn good welder, which can be hard to find.

      A friend and I played around with a 1" diameter cannon a couple of years ago. He's a shipwright and pipe welder by trade. He built and welded the thing, and despite being very comfortable welding pipe for high pressure applications.. this still made him nervous, even though it was built using 3/4" wall pipe, and a 2" thick butt plate.

      We mostly stopped using it after a kid blew his hand off with a similar device a few miles away on the 4th of j

  • Ah technological advancements... (Score:3, Funny)

    by twoslice ( 457793 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:06PM (#7129942)
    I remember fondly making spud cannons and now this. Soon we will have backyard nukes!

  • bf1942 (Score:3, Funny)

    by Lord_Dweomer ( 648696 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:06PM (#7129949) Homepage
    God, I can see the people who play bf1942 having WAY too much fun with this one.

    "Hey!!! Stop base-camping you bastard!"

    *THWUMP* *whistle*

    "Heh...doubt he'll respawn after that one."

  • Dept of Homeland Security (Score:4, Funny)

    by dlur ( 518696 ) <dlur&iw,net> on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:07PM (#7129952) Homepage Journal

    The fine folks from the Dept. of Homeland Security and various other government agencies will be breaking down your door in about 2.4 minutes for posting this information. Enjoy life as an "enemy combatent".

    "I, for one, welcome our new Insect Overlords." - Kent Brockman

  • Arrr!!! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Lobsang ( 255003 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:07PM (#7129954) Homepage
    All he needs know is a copy of Napster, a Boat and a parrot to be a perfect pirate! Arrrrrr!!! Ahoy me men! Remember to pillage BEFORE you burn! Arrr!

    • Re:Arrr!!! (Score:5, Funny)

      by Bunji X ( 444592 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @01:14AM (#7130757)
      Nah, he will also need a wooden leg, a hook instead of a hand or at least an eye patch to become a full fledged pirate.

      But then, playing with toys like these, that problem will be solved in a not-so-distant future...

  • Wow... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Zzootnik ( 179922 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:09PM (#7129967)
    Okay- Sure, It's a Darwin award waiting to happen, but WOW... There's just something about explosives and that much kinetic energy... I used to shoot off the BIG July 4 fireworks...the normal "dinky" 3 inch shells are pretty pounding, but the bigger 10"+ shells were just pure Concussion.( And that's just from the launch-) Lotsa material there to feed your inner pyromaniac...

    I'd still be pretty spooked about flying metal shards here, though. I've seen the aftermath of firing tubes that have ruptured, and you really can't imagine how steel can twist and rip like paper until you've seen it. There was a REASON we buried those tubes....
    • Okay- Sure, It's a Darwin award waiting to happen

      It's also an arrest waiting to happen, assuming you survived. At least in my state, that cannon would qualify not only as an explosive device and (probably) a firearm, but an "infernal device"(as are catapults, 'weapons of mass destruction').

      • Re:Infernal device (Score:4, Interesting)

        by TheCrazyFinn ( 539383 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @11:40PM (#7130385) Homepage
        First off, they're up in Alaska, where the laws are kinda lax aout that sort of thing.

        Second off, Doc specializes in wierd and wonderful stuff like this. I'm sure he gave it a once over before being anywhere near it when it went off. Doc Nickel is a pretty bright guy, and works around high-pressure devices all the time (He's one of the top airsmiths in Paintball, and somewhat legendary for his hacks).

  • What? No gratuitous damage shots?!? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Cid Highwind ( 9258 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:09PM (#7129969) Homepage
    Am I the only one disappointed that the reporter didn't go downrange and photograph the craters those bowling balls made on impact? I bet it would be a lot more impressive than the divots the cannon dug in the firing line...

  • Reminds me of powerlabs cannon (Score:5, Interesting)

    by ron_ivi ( 607351 ) <sdotno@NosPAM.cheapcomplexdevices.com> on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:13PM (#7129987)
    Reminds me of this cannon [powerlabs.org]

    But still neither are quite as cool as this Trebuchet [geocities.com] from the which launched a piano and a cow [geocities.com].

  • how lame is this "What's the Hatcher's Index of a projectile weighing fifty-thousand grains moving at 400 fps?"

    Who uses units like that?

    "Yes, I'd like to send this letter to the Prussian consulate in Siam by aeromail. Am I too late for the 4:30 autogyro?"

  • Don't Try This At Home (Score:4, Informative)

    by Detritus ( 11846 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:15PM (#7129996) Homepage
    The BATF [atf.gov] has no sense of humor. They have a long history of harassing, arresting and prosecuting people for "minor" violations of the law. You could end up the subject of a search warrant, your house torn apart, and facing felony charges in a federal court.
  • If a college student or the nation of North Korea can do it, so can you.

  • Just great... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by dstillz ( 704959 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:28PM (#7130065) Homepage Journal
    The last thing we need is high school kids building this type of thing. I'd make a joke about Columbine in the context of bowling, but I'm too tired.
  • brick and mortar!

  • I Love it. (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Simple-Simmian ( 710342 )
    This is cool. The guy who built this knows what he is doing. Most of you don't. Don't try this at home.

    Cannons and Mortars are legal to own. My Brother in Law owns a cannon they use at civil war re-enactments so who ever posted that the BATF will get you is full of it. At charge of 3 oz Pyrodex a shot this is not cheap to fire but this is not a toy even though it's used like one. Last time I bought FFFG Pyrodex it was aprox $14.00 for 16 ounces. That was a while back. ( I have several black powder fire

  • 5 pounder (Score:4, Funny)

    by TheHawke ( 237817 ) <rchapin@stx.rrREDHAT.com minus distro> on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:33PM (#7130082)
    One local nut built one complete with a gun carrage and took it to the local rifle range. The resulting blast brought the local, county and state troopers to see who was blowing crap up. Turned out when they found out, hung around for two more salvos from the monster! I saw the photos of the cannon going off and it had a impressive muzzle flash. Using Pyrodex will do wonders for your complexion and add that special aroma to your cologne.

    • Firing a .357 Magnum at indoor pistol ranges has a similar effect. The sound and reverberation is so great that others on the rage cannot concentrate and have to wait until the magnum shooter is finished.

    • Re:5 pounder (Score:3, Funny)

      by sharkey ( 16670 )
      Using Pyrodex will do wonders for your complexion and add that special aroma to your cologne.

      Ahh, yes, Eau de Loaded Shorts

  • Buddy, you are way off on this one. If you REALLY want to build a fine mortar, you need to get hold of a copy of "Cryptonomicon" by Neal Stephenson. In that book, he describes the marvelous and impressively destructive engineering the Soviets were capable of mustering when it came to killing Germans. In contrast, "a pair of Soviet-made shoes were about as flattering and comfortable as the box they came in, but their mortars were a man-killing wonder." ...or something to this effect. On the other hand, h

  • This was a great link (Score:5, Interesting)

    by sakusha ( 441986 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:38PM (#7130106)
    ...when I first saw it on FARK about two weeks ago. They had a cool link to a Civil War reenactment supplier that will sell you a modern-manufacture cannon just like the ones they used back in the olden days. Only $7000, powder and shot not included.

    Anyway, I am reminded of a story I read a while ago. Some curators (Art Institute of Chicago or The Smithsonian or someplace like that) were examining an antique gun and found out it was loaded, and had been on display for decades with a full charge. The gunpowder charge was so old, they feared it was unstable and could detonate at any moment, so they decided to investigate all their other weapons. They found out that about 20% of their collection was fully loaded and nobody ever knew about it. They're desperately trying to defuse all these old weapons, which includes everything from relatively modern antique guns to old cannons. And they can't just pour water down the barrels because some of them have bullets in the way, some of the weapons would disintegrate if you got them wet, so they're in a real quandary. Now I wonder about the safety of all those cannons on public display in parks etc.

  • Bowling Ball Loft (Score:2, Informative)

    by c1ay ( 703047 )
    We like having bowling ball contests at rocket meets. Check out the 2003 results at http://www.ahpra.org/BBL03results.htm The best shot this year was 6416 feet with a 16 pound ball :-)
  • While posting that account isn't strictly illegal, (neither is posting plans for a potato gun) it's a good thing he didn't mention any names. Cannons like that have been illegal for ages. I know a friend who had a smaller one like that confiscated, along with all his firearms and knives after he (stupidly) shot off a powder cannon inside city limits.

    Some cops might be lenient on the ol spud shooters, but this thing could deliver serious destructive power if it had a mind to

  • My potato gun... (Score:3, Informative)

    by Aardpig ( 622459 ) on Friday October 03, 2003 @10:45PM (#7130140)

    A few years back, I built myself a potato gun. A 3-inch calibre potato gun. The "King Edward Howitzer" (as I liked to call it) was constructed from various pieces of PVC drainage piping. A short length of large (8" dia) bossed pipe connector was closed off at one end with a screwable inspection cap, and at the other end with a diameter reducer, going into a 4-foot length of 3" dia piping (the barrel). The bossed pipe connector served as a combustion chamber; to permit firing, a small hole was drilled in the side of the chamber.

    Operation procedure was as follows:

    1. Take 1 large King Edward or Maris Piper potato (these varieties are good, being waxy in texture), and ram it into the barrel, creating a plug of potato
    2. Using a hospital crutch, push the plug down the barrel until it sits just above the junction with the combustion chamber
    3. Unscrew the inspection cap and squirt about 3 seconds worth of hairspray into the combustion chamber. Replace the cap firmly when done
    4. Point the howitzer in the desired direction, and hold a lit match at the hole in the side of the combustion chamber. Voila!

    It made a hell of a whoop when it fired, and from time/distance measurements, we estimated a muzzle velocity of well over 100 mph.

  • We made a 60mm mortar for use during WWII reenactments. No projectiles, just a shell made out of an empty 35mm film container. The fuse was passed through a hole drilled in the cap. A small pyrodex charge propelled the canister out of the tube, and gave us a little smokey airburst about 50 yards downrange, and 20 yards up. Tiny yes, but still fun.
  • ..we made something similar with the help of a friend of mine who's a metalsmith. A fairly hefty metal pipe of the type mentioned, a metal disk with a hole in the center welded onto the bottom, and a spark plug through the hole. Pour a small amount of petrol into the bottom of the pipe, drop in an empty (or full) tin can.. run off to hide, and touch the wires attached to the spark plug to a 12v car battery. Poof. ;)
  • At least he was kind enough to provide movies--with audio--of his "darwin award waiting to happen" misadventures. I mean, this article mentions more than once how the bowling balls "whistled," "screamed," and "howled" down the range... I'd love to see and hear that for myself--without actually risking my life, that is.
  • reminds me of the story last year about the compressed air pumpkin cannon with a 5 mile range [courier-journal.com]... just look at that thing!

    what is it with october and insane cannons?

  • yawn (Score:2)

    by XO ( 250276 )
    i saw this like a week ago on bluesnews... come on slashdot.
  • Not sure if they do it every year, but at UCF they have races to get potatoes to the other side of the reflection pond. Using engineered stuff. You get lots of remote control boats, high-speed winches, and ziplines. It's a difficult competition because it is a semi-circular pond, you have to go out to the middle, around the fountain, and back to the other side (think of a line dissecting a circle, you start on one radius and end on the other). Check www.ucf.edu for pics of the fountain.

    One group decided to
    • I just looked up some info, from the website:

      "Last year students set the Reflecting Pond afire and accidentally launched a potato at the Library. That brings a ban on pyrotechnics this year. However, Eaglin expects the competition to be action-packed and full of surprises. "These are engineers. They come up with all sorts of things," he concludes."

      http://www.news.ucf.edu/FY2001-02/020415a.html

  • Physics time... (Score:2, Informative)

    by James McTavish ( 244393 )
    They really don't comment on the stats in the article so I decided to figure them out for myself:

    If you assume a flat field (from the pictures it isn't that bad of an assumption) and that they fired at 45 degrees, the vertial velocity would have been equal to the horizonal velocity:

    Vh = Vv = V / sqrt(2)

    The horizantal distance is about 600yards or 550m (according to google) so the horizontal motion is constant and described by:

    D = Vv*t = 550

    The vertical motion is described by:

    y = Vv * t - 1/2 * g * t^2

  • Use Tennis Balls Instead.. (Score:3, Informative)

    by R-2-RO ( 766 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @01:42AM (#7130847) Journal
    This one is safer, but don't try it at home.

    Back in the day when he played war-games, we would build 'mortars' or cannons with just the following items.. Soup cans, duct tape, lighter fluid, and tennis balls. It was a ton of fun to blast tennis balls at each other. It didn't hurt (too bad) :) Simple to make, takes 10 minutes once you have the cans. We would cut out both ends on all but 2 soup cans. Duct tape them together end to end.. (duh), then take one of the cans that only has one open end and using a nail or somethng, punch holes in it bottom.. lots of 'em, then duct tape that can to the others. the last can and be duct taped to the bottom end of the cannon, and using a can opener, create a small hole on the side of the last can. Done!
    Tennis balls fits in the can perfectly, and rests in the next to last can, pour some lighter fluid in the last can in the small opening that u made and set it off with a match. :)

    My description is pretty horrible, i know.. well, I said not to try it at home anyway.

  • Jeeesus Freekin Christ! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by tjensor ( 571163 ) on Saturday October 04, 2003 @09:18AM (#7131891) Journal
    Have you any idea how irresponsible this is. I was shocked, and showed it to my Irish co-worker just to check it wasnt just me. He too was shocked and said "whoever thinks that is cool should go live in Belfast for a while" which I think just about sums it up.

    Im not sure which is most irresponsible. Making the thing, doing a website about the thing, or publicising the thing as being "cool".

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