- The Range of a trebuchet fired on a horizontal plane is
- = 2V Sin(a)Cos(a)/g
- Where g is the acceleration of gravity, V is the velocity of the projectile, and "a" is the release angle of the sling.
- The ideal release angle for the sling is 45 degrees.
- This velocity "V" can be calculated in an ideal system as potential energy=kinetic energy.
- This is demonstrated in the following equations:
- Due to conservation of energy,
- Solving and substituting equations:
This is for an ideal, frictionless system, the addition of air resistence, friction, and other such variables (tapered throwing arms etc), will influence this range.