Medieval Machinery YKTTW Discussion  Medieval Machinery Buttons,
switches, and even proximity sensors in a medieval setting.
Already have? (permanent link) added: 2012-08-27 12:29:07
sponsor: Xolroc (last reply: 2012-08-29 23:56:51)  Add Tag:
You've seen them and not given them a second thought, they're so
ubiquitous. But think: Buttons and pressure plates, commonly
used for traps or alarms in medieval settings, don't do much of
anything without electricity. If you mechanically connected them
to what they're supposed to operate, you'd either have to press
them in several feet or push with the force of a truck! And
don't even get me started on fires that start or spikes that
come out of the ground when you get near them.  Sometimes there
are even doors that slide up into the ceiling at the press of a
button, and slide back down when it's pressed again. True, a
mechanism to do that is possible. But it'd likely be larger than
the building it's used in!  Admittedly, counterweights would
work for the levers and bu