Ancient and Medieval War Technology Flashcards
What were the main factors of war technology in general?
Technological progress Needs/resources Bottlenecks/endpoints Innovations Revolutions
Describe the telescope and its advancements
Invented in 1610
Had a problem with chromatic aberration that broke colors and was blurry
This was an endpoint
A revolution came with the Newtonian telescope in late 17th century that didn’t have refraction
Invention of achromatic lens in mid 18th century and achromatic triplet lead to endpoint
How did war technology change?
from personal level to state/national level
Describe war technology.
A survival technology
directly connected to the state/government and uses state budget
directly connected to national (and international) interest
intense competition on effectiveness
Who formed and wrote about Roman technology?
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio
Who was Philo of Byzantium?
Philo mechanicus, author of Mechanike syntaxis and Belopoiika about artillery
Why were catapults successful?
Thinking in terms of technological progress starting with bow and arrow relating mount of energy, stiffness, length, and human limitations
What was the endpoint of the bow and arrow?
the length of the draw is limited by the length of the bowman’s arm
What developed from the bow and arrow?
The gastraphetes, used body weight
What was a limitation of bow-catapults?
elasticity of the bow
What succeeded bow-catapults?
torsion catapults
What are the three ways to store energy in a catapult?
tension, torsion, and gravity
What was the revolutionary invention in 13th century?
The counterweight Trebuchet that used gravity and angular momentum with wheels beneath it
Why is Greek fire important?
It represents military secrecy, invented by Kallinikos
What is greek fire?
a napalm-like substance that burned in water and could be projected great distances from ships, relied on by the Byzantines for victory three times against Arabs
What did Henri Pirenne say?
The use of Greek fire allowed Europe to not be invaded by Arabs. All tech innovation achieved in Europe
Was Greek fire a tool or system?
A weapon system that depend on an array of knowledge
How was Greek fire kept secret?
Through the state
Difference between science and technology and secrecy?
Science is papyrophilic, and is usually published
Tech in papyrophobic, and is kept secret
What is compartmentalization?
dissection of production process where individual pieces have no meaning
What is the Coca-Cola technique?
One place of production and distribution
What are the components of technology?
Matter, Power, Tool/Machine, and Technique (secrets)
What examples of lost technological Know-How?
Damascus Steel, Stradivarius violins, Chinese Tower Clocks, concrete (rediscovered in 1710)
