Robins

Benjamin Robins

Born: 1707 in England
Died: 20 July 1751 in Madras, India

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Robins published in 1742 New Principles of Gunnery which formed the basis for all subsequent work on the theory of artillery and projectiles.

He also invented the ballistic pendulum which allowed precise measurements of the velocity of projectiles fired from guns. As described by Robins, a large wooden block is suspended in front of a gun. When a bullet is fired its momentum is transferred to the bob and can be determined from the amplitude of the pendulum.

References:

  1. Biography in Encyclopaedia Britannica
  2. B D Steele, Muskets and pendulums : Benjamin Robins, Leonhard Euler, and the ballistics revolution (1742-1753), Technology and culture 35 (1994), 348-382. 
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JOC/EFR February 1996