1714: Science in war

Why eighteenth century military clothing was very showy colors rather than camouflage like today? How functioned firearms? What factors decided the victory in the open field? How was raised a siege to a city? And how the city was defended? How was medicine and surgery?
The report explains what is aposematic coloration, shoots with an old rifle and demonstrates the inaccuracy of front loading system. The individual and collective behavior of the soldiers of the armies Bourbon-French, English and Catalan are modeled in the Mare Nostrum supercomputer and the results are compared with historical descriptions of battles. The report also shows the amputation and cauterization procedures prior to the discovery of antibiotics and anesthetics. And analyzes the engineering of strongholds and how the artillery faced it in sieges by parabolic shot of cannons and mortars.
In the studio the presenter Jaume Vilalta explains the evolution of the bullet and parabolic shot movement.
Speakers Francesc Xavier Hernandez from the Department of Social Science Education at UB, Xavier Rubio from Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Jordi Espriu from the Association Miqueletes of Catalonia and Alfons Zarzoso from the Museum of the History of Medicine of Catalonia.