Reflection

After building the cannon and testing it we have concluded the reason behind the cannons failure. We believe that either the ethanol used in the reaction was not properly mixed so that it would react correctly or the temperature that day was too low to create the proper pressure. Gay Lussac's gas law states that as the temperature of the enclosed gas increases,the pressure increases, if the volume is constant. The low temperature on the day of testing could have resulted in the loss of pressure and thus the failure of the launch. If we had done the experiment in a warmer temperature the pressure would have been more and propeled the projectile. Another reason behind this theory is that the many designs that were tested that day all failed, which means that the designs did not cause the failure somthing else did. The ethanol ould have been another problem. If it was not mixed properly the reaction itself would fail and thus lead to cannon failure. We did run a test on the ethanol and the test seemed to conclude the ethanol to be mixed properly howerver we may never know truly until we test agian. The cannon project has tought us much about the function of gases, the projectile formula, and the varous cannon like weapons throughout the years. We should take this knowledge and use it to create the same experiment with the two possible failure points removed.

Angles of Subject

The Formula used to calculate the angle of launch is shown above. The formula itself has problems because it leaves out many variables such as wind, height of launch, etc. and thus making it more usable for a "vacuum" cannon launch than one in the real world. We plugged in many angles and came back with one that made the projectile go the furthest. It turned out to be just under 40 degrees. We did not get to see our angle in action due to the failure of the reaction. If we were to redo the project I would choose o use a better formula and maybe come up with a better calculated angle.

Language of Cannons

The 600 soldiers were assaulted by the shots of shells of canons in front and on both sides of them. Still, they rode courageously forward toward their own deaths: "Into the jaws of Death / Into the mouth of hell / Rode the six hundred."The soldiers struck the enemy gunners with their unsheathed swords ("sabres bare") and charged at the enemy army while the rest of the world looked on in wonder. They rode into the artillery smoke and broke through the enemy line, destroying their Cossack and Russian opponents. Then they rode back from the offensive, but they had lost many men so they were "not the six hundred" any more.Canons behind and on both sides of the soldiers now assaulted them with shots and shells. As the brigade rode "back from the mouth of hell," soldiers and horses collapsed; few remained to make the journey back.

This poem shows how cannons were used throughout the years and how no matter the technology there will always be valiant men and women that will charge into "the mouth of hell". It makes you think how it must have felt to be in the midst of such warfare and how warfare in general has become less "up close and personal".


The piece of music called "Overture of 1812" is related because it tells a story of battle. The music goes deep into what i believe to be an 18th century battle. It shows many angles including cannon fire and the charging in of troops toward the cannon fire. It evokes many emotions and most of which the soldies in battle feel. The Music allows for the listener to see the battle take place, to see how warfare was waged, to imagine all inside their head the cannons, soldiers, and battle forces of battles raged in the past.