Who is credited with inventing the ballistic pendulum in the year 1740?

The inventor of the ballistic pendulum in 1740 is credited to Benjamín Robins, an English mathematician and military engineer. The ballistic pendulum is an important device used to measure the velocity of projectiles, leveraging the principles of momentum and conservation of energy. When a projectile strikes the pendulum, it causes the pendulum to swing upward, and through careful measurements of the swing's height and the pendulum's mass, one can calculate the projectile's initial velocity.

Robins' development of the ballistic pendulum is significant in the field of ballistics as it laid the groundwork for future experiments and calculations related to projectile motion. His work not only emphasized the importance of precision in measuring velocities but also contributed to the understanding of the physical principles governing motion and energy transfer.

While figures such as Newton, Galileo, and Archimedes made substantial contributions to the fields of physics and mathematics, their works did not specifically involve the invention of the ballistic pendulum or its application in ballistics, which highlights Robins as a pioneer in this particular area.