BOWS AND ARROWS — KLOPSTEG 573 



First efforts sought to gain skill and improve scores. Practice was 

 guided by an instruction sheet which came with the set. We started 

 with complete ignorance of the techniques, so that improvement began 

 from the zero level. In the course of my self-instruction in the art of 

 "shooting in the bow" my familiarity with physics helped me to 

 recognize the mechanical principles and problems involved in the 

 propulsion of an an'ow by means of a bow. 



To increase the success of our efforts I bought and read what few 

 up-to-date books on archery could be procured, and subscribed to the 

 single archery magazine then being published, "yclept 'Ye Sylvan 

 Archer' " — the title of which provided a flavor of romantic antiquity 

 and old tradition for a struggling journal by and for amateurs. 



The appearance of some of Hiclanan's articles in this magazine led 

 to a renewal of our acquaintance. A lively correspondence about the 

 physics and engineering aspects of archery developed. My Aberdeen 

 Chronograph and shop equipment became the nucleus of an attic 

 laboratory for which I built a shooting machine and other specialized 

 apparatus. The latter included high-speed flash equipment for ob- 

 taining instantaneous photographs of an arrow being accelerated by 

 the bow, and measurement of force-draw characteristics of a bow by 

 photography. I was thus launched, not to say propelled, into experi- 

 mental studies which were all the more welcome for the diversion 

 they afforded from the serious economic problems following the great 

 depression of 1929. In many respects, my equipment was similar to 

 Hickman's, so that we could easily compare and check measurements 

 and keep our efforts cooperative and complementary. 



My publications reporting on these experiments began in 1931, first 

 in "Ye Sylvan Archer," and later in a newly established journal of 

 small circulation, the "Archery Review." Reference to the bibli- 

 ography shows that several engineer-scientists other than Hickman 

 and myself also published several papers, a few of which appeared in 

 the Journal of the Franklin Institute. Among the authors were 

 English, Higgins, Nagler, and Rheingans. 



The topics listed below give a picture of some of the interesting 

 problems with which the research and development efforts dealt ; but 

 many questions were only partially answered. There is still plenty 

 of rewarding pastime left in them for anyone who feels inclined to 

 apply his skill to their solution. 



1. The effects of the shape, dimensions, relative settings, and angles 

 of limbs on the static force-draw relation as the bow is drawn and the 

 dynamic force-displacement relation as the arrow is accelerated. 



2. The static energy-draw relation as the bow is drawn. 



3. The velocity of departure of the arrow and its kinetic energy 

 derived from the energy in the drawn bow. 



