Arbalest skilled arbalestier (arbalester) could loose two bolts per minute. The term "arbalest" is sometimes used interchangeably with "crossbow". "Arbalest" is a Medieval French word originating from the Roman name ' (from ' 'bow' + " 'missile-throwing engine'), which was then used for crossbows, although originally used for types of artillery. Modern French uses the word ", which is linguistically one step further from the stem (disappearance of the "s" phoneme in the last syllable, before "t"). The word applies to both crossbow and arbalest (the latter may be referred to as a "heavy crossbow", but an actual heavy crossbow may
Tectonic weapon Tectonic weapon A tectonic weapon is a hypothetical device or system which could create earthquakes, volcanoes, or other seismic events in specified locations by interfering with the Earth's natural geological processes. It was defined in 1992 by Aleksey Vsevolovidich Nikolayev, corresponding member Russian Academy of Sciences: "A tectonic or seismic weapon would be the use of the accumulated tectonic energy of the Earth's deeper layers to induce a destructive earthquake". He added "to set oneself the objective of inducing an earthquake is extremely doubtful". Theoretically, the tectonic weapon functions by creating a powerful charge of elastic energy in the form