Found a good documentary by historychannel on Ancient Chinese Rocket technology.
To watch the documentary online, go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luPbSIu8n8I
I'm amazed that they actually did an experiment and mockup on the chinese hand-held rocket launcher.
What's your view on this documentary? Care to comment on it.
Full Version: Documentary on Ancient Chinese Missile Technology
The missiles were made by the following:
1. explosives tied onto an arrow. Fins were built onto arrow so that it can guide the missile in a straight line as it flies.
2. More than 100 missiles can fly and travel in long distance. As it reaches the ground, it explodes and destroy the enemy.
However, what I don't understand is this:
How do you control the time of explosion? How do you make sure the explosive expode at the right time?
1. explosives tied onto an arrow. Fins were built onto arrow so that it can guide the missile in a straight line as it flies.
2. More than 100 missiles can fly and travel in long distance. As it reaches the ground, it explodes and destroy the enemy.
However, what I don't understand is this:
How do you control the time of explosion? How do you make sure the explosive expode at the right time?
QUOTE (General_Zhaoyun @ Jun 17 2008, 10:39 PM) 
The missiles were made by the following:
1. explosives tied onto an arrow. Fins were built onto arrow so that it can guide the missile in a straight line as it flies.
2. More than 100 missiles can fly and travel in long distance. As it reaches the ground, it explodes and destroy the enemy.
However, what I don't understand is this:
How do you control the time of explosion? How do you make sure the explosive expode at the right time?
1. explosives tied onto an arrow. Fins were built onto arrow so that it can guide the missile in a straight line as it flies.
2. More than 100 missiles can fly and travel in long distance. As it reaches the ground, it explodes and destroy the enemy.
However, what I don't understand is this:
How do you control the time of explosion? How do you make sure the explosive expode at the right time?
Fuses and Luck. I had seen some experimental recreations of chinese rockets. Their explosive fire-arrows were much more effective, when used enmasse, than their single large firework-like rockets were. The box-launcher they used was much more effective than the singular large rocket that was allegedly also built in one myth (accuracy of the one experiment I saw kinda debunked the idea)
Although, judging by the 'bazooka' test they did there, it looks like accuracy and timing were necessarily that important. Merely exploding nearby someone could do some serious damage.
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