alt Hacker NewsWhat part of "I can't wait to see this optimized into a portable version" did you not understand?
Yes, this prototype is big and unwieldy. So?
The development process is obviously on its way towards the construction of a smaller, lighter version.
BTW, there are rocks up the mountain. They can serve as the weight once you get there.
It's the math of the thing that is going to end up becoming optimal. Not just the material design - which is important once the loading and tolerances are understood. The gearing/screw mechanism is especially interesting from this perspective - it provides a clear path for optimization.
Once he has the equation dialed in, it will be interesting to see it scale down. The winding gear provides a path to optimization on the horizontal plane, and that is going to be very interesting to see go through a few more iterations. Pun, intended.
> What part of "I can't wait to see this optimized into a portable version" did you not understand?
The part where you don't need to load into the system at least as much energy (actually a multiple) as you get out of it.
But there are already a lot of simple, portable and lightweight mechanical systems to launch objects at high speeds, and optimised to be loaded by muscle energy: they're called sling, slingshot, bow, crossbow, etc. They have excellent performance. Since air drag is dominant on small projectiles, speed decays exponentially and the range only increases little with more energy. Claude calculates that a bow can double the video's trebuchet at throwing distance because of the arrow's shape and weight, despite shooting at much lower speed and needing about a quarter of the energy input.