Crossbows vs. Longbows

[Maerlande]

You guys don't seem to get the physics.

The bow material is IRRELEVANT. If you make a bow of styrofoam and it requires a 150 lb draw at 12 inches draw pull at 24" bow width it's the same as a titanium bow with the same characteristics.

Because, fundamentally it's a human being drawing the bow. And a human being has a limited amount of reach and pull. So all things being equal, a human with 150 lbs of pull at 28 inches of draw will put MORE energy into an arrow or bolt with a longer total bow length. So if a human could draw a 12 foot long bow at 150 lbs and 28 inches it would have far more penetration than any 4 foot tall bow at the same draw and length.

Material is irrelevant. If we are talking about machine powered draw and unlimited time to draw then compounding by mechanical advantage comes into play.

Of course, if you want to debate this I'm most happy. Of course you realize I will win.

[vfb]

Originally Posted by Maerlande

You guys don't seem to get the physics.

The bow material is IRRELEVANT. If you make a bow of styrofoam and it requires a 150 lb draw at 12 inches draw pull at 24" bow width it's the same as a titanium bow with the same characteristics.

Styrofoam is very light. So a 150lb draw styrofoam bow would only actually be about 15lb. Clearly you did not understand anything at all we were talking about on IRC. I thought you engineering types studied physics in school. Not just beaver dams. Titanium on the other hand is really heavy, so a 150lb draw titantium bow would be about 400lbs actually.

Because, fundamentally it's a human being drawing the bow.

What are you, some kind of troll? You are clearly racist against the Vaetti.

And a human being has a limited amount of reach and pull. So all things being equal, a human with 150 lbs of pull at 28 inches of draw will put MORE energy into an arrow or bolt with a longer total bow length. So if a human could draw a 12 foot long bow at 150 lbs and 28 inches it would have far more penetration than any 4 foot tall bow at the same draw and length.

Gah! There you go again. You are totally ignoring the material used in the bow construction. How can you keep making this basic mistake, ignoring composites, and plastics, and steel bows, or, more importantly, plasteel Xbows? Don't you know 'X' stands for "extra"?

Material is irrelevant. If we are talking about machine powered draw and unlimited time to draw then compounding by mechanical advantage comes into play.

Of course, if you want to debate this I'm most happy. Of course you realize I will win.

Sounds to me like you've been drinking! You're not gonna win anything that way, except maybe a beer belly.

[Stavis_L]

Originally Posted by vfb

What are you, some kind of troll? You are clearly racist against the Vaetti.

Trolls have every right to be racist against vaetti. Besides, I hear that vaetti make good eatin' (if you're a troll.)

...oh, and you could stick the little vaetti skull on the end of your Troll-size crossbow, and it would look real intimidating or something. If you hang a vaetti skull on your bow, it just kinda dangles there looking silly, plus it throws off your aim as it waves back and forth.

Therefore, Crossbows > Longbows, if you're a troll. On the other hand, Longbows > Crossbows, if you're a vaetti.