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Invention

Crossbow

Mechanical Engineering

A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a prod, mounted horizontally on a main frame called a tiller. The earliest known crossbows were invented in ancient China in the first millennium BCE. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
SignificanceSourced to the subject's own account
Archaeological evidence places crossbow locks made of cast bronze in China as early as roughly 650 BC. 1
Connections

In Field

Source Crossbow (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Crossbow (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Lead section (entity-description)
    A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a prod, mounted horizontally on a main frame called a tiller, which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long gun.
  • History, China section, opening sentence
    In terms of archaeological evidence, crossbow locks dated c. 650 BC made of cast bronze have been found in China.
  • In Field: Mechanical Engineering, Introduction
    Crossbows avoid these potential problems by having trigger-released cocking mechanisms to maintain the tension on the string once it has been spanned, drawn, into its ready-to-shoot position, allowing a crossbow to be carried cocked and ready and affording its user time to aim it.
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