This video has been nominated as a duplicate of this video by chicchorea. If this nomination is seconded with *isdupe, the video will be killed and its votes transferred to the original.

*dupeof=http://videosift.com/video/Drug-smugglers-catapult-pot-over-border-fence

OK, I found another copy on YouTube thanks to http://idle.slashdot.org/story/11/01/27/1451241/Drug-Catapult-Found-At-US-Mexico-Border ...

I had a random guess as well. Most of the rail systems I am familiar with have a chamber the projectile travels down like the barrel of a gun. The main problem I have heard with this systems is the problem of bracing the projectile. How do you accelerate a metal object to super sonic speeds without it destroying the chamber via friction? Some had it in a jacket that was guided by a catapult like system on an aircraft carrier. This results in sparks, fires, and smoke because of the friction involved. I can't find details on this specific gun though beyond "they fired it".

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/bae-producing-scaleddown-rail-gun-naval-weapon-01986/

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/12/ap-navy-dahlgren-railgun-test-121010/

Archimedes of Syracuse was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. The solar powered heat ray he is credited with inventing is thought by some to be a myth - but it may well have functioned based on the results of several experiments over the years.

Archimedes' heat ray was supposedly used in the Siege of Syracuse to focus sunlight onto approaching Roman ships, causing them to catch fire. Some have theorised that highly polished shields may have been used to focus the sunlight, much in the same way modern solar thermal farms use parabolic collectors.

Parabolic mirrors were described and studied by one of Archimedes' contemporaries, mathematician Diocles in his work "On Burning Mirrors", so their existence and possible application was known in the same time period as the Siege of Syracuse.

Over the ensuing centuries, various parties have attempted to prove or disprove the existence of Archimedes' heat ray using materials Archimedes would have had available to him at the time - and also with more modern materials.

A test in the 1970's by Greek scientist Ioannis Sakkas using 70 mirrors measuring 1.5 metres by 1 metre set fire to a mock wooden ship at a distance of around 50 metres. In 2005, an experiment by students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology using 127 small mirror tiles at a distance of 30 metres from a wooden target resulted in a fire after 10 minutes of perfect conditions. A repeat of this experiment for the Myth Busters television series found Archimedes' solar powered "death ray" was unlikely to have performed as reported and that other weaponry available at the time with the ability to set fire to ships, such as catapults, would have been far more effective and likely used.

More recently, the authors of Green Power Science have demonstrated the solar powered death ray was indeed possible. Using just 27 ordinary flat mirrors of various sizes, they were also able to set fire to a model wooden ship. Under ideal conditions, the mast of the model caught fire in under a minute. They believe Archimedes could have had access to many parabolic mirrors made of highly polished metal that would have provided a more focused reflection than flat glass mirrors; and also the necessary manpower for a substantial manual "solar tracking" system to keep sunlight focused on the ships for long enough to set them ablaze.

http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=1006

now he's sure to get a job with the tiny catapult company!

You're not the only one. There are people on gulf islands in British Columbia who build various catapults and throw heavy and amazing things very far in all directions.

http://videosift.com/video/Millimeters-Matter

Trebuchets, Ballistas, Mangonels and Onagers are all catapults..

However, a trebuchet works by using the energy of a raised counterweight to throw the projectile. i.e. they're powered by gravity.

Tho, since the device in this ad gets its power from those springs on either side..

Its design is closer to a torsion catapult like a Mangonel or Onager.

Generically referred to as just "a catapult".

[cause the only real difference is: Onagers use a sling. Mangonels use a spoon or basket.]

Sorry for nerdin' out.. I used to be reeeally into that sorta stuff. = P

It's a type of catapult called a trebuchet.

like blutruth said it's a catapult

also.. a dupe.

*viral *catapult

"The story circulating about this video is that the man on the motorcycle is a gymnast. Just before he smacked into the side of a truck, he intentionally vaulted over the handlebars."

That's total BS, the frame before impact he's just sitting there.

Guy's an idiot who wasn't paying attention, if he'd had enough presence of mind to do SOMETHING before the accident you'd think he'd have hit the brakes or turned to the left slightly. He was just lucky to be catapulted clear, has nothing to do with skill, whether he's a gymnast or not.

The melon catapult still hurts me to the core.

Fucking awesome. At first I thought we're all dead, but then I realized...screw crowbars. Freeman was an idiot...grab a net.

also,

http://videosift.com/video/Capturing-Pigeons-Using-a-Catapulted-Net?loadcomm=1

This video has been seconded as a duplicate; transferring votes to the original video and killing this dupe - dupeof seconded with isdupe by kulpims.