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NEW EXPERIMENTS

tract 34.

equal charges of powder, from pieces of the same weightand calibre, but of different lengths.

(2.) The velocities with different charges of powder, theweight and length of the gun being the same.

(3.) The greatest velocity due to the different lengths ofguns ; to be obtained by increasing the charge as far as theresistance of the piece is capable of sustaining.

(4.) The effect of varying the weight of the piece ; everything else b .he same.

(5.) The penetration of balls into blocks of wood.

(6.) The ranges and times of flight of balls, with thevelocities by stiiking the pendulum at various distances; tocompare them with their initial velocities, for determiningthe resistance of the medium.

(T.) The effect of wads ;

of different degrees of ramming, or compressing thecharge ;

of different degrees of windage ;

of different positions of the vent;

of chambers, and trunnions, and every other circum,stance necessary to be known for the improvement of artil-lery.

On the Nature of the Experiment, and on the Machineryused in it.

6. The effects of most of the circumstanceslast mentioned,are determined by the actual velocity, with which the ball isprojected from the mouth of the piece. Therefore theprimary object of the experiments is, to discover that velo-city in all cases, and especially in such as usually occur inthe common practice of artillery. This velocity is verygreat ; from 1000 to 2000 feet, or more, in a second oftime. For conveniently estimating so great a velocity, thefirst thing necessary is, to reduce it, in some known propor-tion, to a small one. Which we may conceive to be effectedin this manner: suppose the ball, projected with a great ve-locity, to strike some very heavy body, such as a largeblock of wood, from which it will not rebound, so that,