Arbalest Arbalest The arbalest (also arblast) was a late variation of the crossbow coming into use in Europe during the 12th century. A large weapon, the arbalest had a steel prod ("bow"). Since the arbalest was much larger than earlier crossbows, and because of the greater tensile strength of steel, it had a greater force. However, the greater draw weight was offset by the smaller powerstroke, which limited its potential in fully transferring the energy into the crossbow bolt. The strongest windlass-pulled arbalests could have up to 22 kN (5000 lbf) of force and be accurate up to 100 m. A
The Weapon Shop The Weapon Shop "The Weapon Shop" is a science fiction short story by Canadian writer A. E. van Vogt, originally published in the December 1942 issue of "Astounding Science Fiction". It is developed from a much shorter 1941 story, "The Seesaw". It was, in turn, used as the basis for a portion of the 1951 fix-up novel "The Weapon Shops of Isher". It was among the stories selected in 1970 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America as one of the best science fiction short stories published before the creation of the Nebula Awards. As such, it was