Physics of Straightening a Bow

[shwin]

Does anyone know where I can find information related to the physics of straightening a bow from its curved state to a more "straight" condition?

 

[russ_watters]

I'm not sure what you mean - do you mean the actual fuctioning of a bow or redesigning it to a different shape?

 

[arildno]

Scientific American had a good article on bows back in 1994 ("the origin of weapons systems"); you can purxhase it from JSTOR:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0011-3204%28199412%2935%3A5%3C679%3ATOOWS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-C&size=LARGE&origin=JSTOR-enlargePage

 

[shwin]

I mean, in terms of applying a force to one end to straighten the bow out.

Thanks for the article also...I just wish I had a credit card :(

 

[Astronuc]

Does anyone know where I can find information related to the physics of straightening a bow from its curved state to a more "straight" condition?

Bows are normally made with a curvature in mind.

Straightening depends on the material, e.g. wood, plastic, horn, . . .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composite_bow

One would have to heat the bow to soften the material or make it more maleable, and then deform it to a straighter profile, and then cool it. The success will vary according to the material, or it may not work at all.

See also - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recurve_bow

 

[shwin]

Iknow bows are made in that respect, but this is related to a project I'm doing with a bow appearing to be a suitable model of reference.

 

[Astronuc]

What does one mean by "a bow appearing to be a suitable model of reference."?


Simply reducing the tension on the bow string will make bows straighter.

 

[shwin]

Oh, I was thinking of a model where pulling down on one end of the structure leads to a straightening out effect.

 

[mgb_phys]

J E Gordon's excellent book "The New Science of Strong Materials: Or Why You Don't Fall Through the Floor" or the follow up " Structures: Or Why Things Don't Fall Down" has a section on the physics and engineering of bows.

They are also the best popular books on materials and structure engineering I know of and really deserve to be more widely knonw.