Howitzer! (Blog 17)

Cannons are used as artillery weapons which require gunpowder to launch a projectile. Each cannon can be different, with different range, angle of fire, calibre, rate of fire, and firepower. It can vary depending on what is required during a battle.


In order to find out how to maximize the range of the projectile shot out of the cannon, the angle that the cannon should be placed along with the horizontal is 45 degrees. This is in between 0 and 90 degrees, and is rightly so because if it is any higher, the projectile would be fired upward too much, causing a loss in distance. Conversely, the degree cannot be under 45 either because the projectile will not reach its maximum potential velocity - also losing some distance. The formula  R = V²sin(2θ)/g can be used to determine the maximum x-distance.


The longest-range projectile fired out of a cannon would be the Paris Gun, used in WWI in 1918. It was used by Germany to bombard Paris but wasn't very successful. It was not meant to destroy the city, but was actually meant to reduce the morale of the citizens there, making them afraid.