A study on possible archimedes' cannon

Assuming some passages by ancient Authors (mainly Plutarchos, Petrarca and Da Vinci) as clues, the authors investigate on the possibility that Archimedes built a steam cannon and used it to hit the Roman ships with incendiary projectiles. The investigations are mainly based on the cannon drawings from Leonardo Da Vinci that he attributes to Archimedes and on some other historical clues. First of all is discussed the plausibility that Archimedes (as a legend tells) really used large concave mirrors that concentrated the sun rays to burn the Roman ships. Then the authors propose an algorithm to evaluate the pressure diagram in such a steam cannon; this in order to predict its performances. Finally projectile trajectories and range figures are computed in order to evaluate the possibility of such a cannon to hit a moving ship. Working cycle and projectile trajectory of Archimedes' steam cannon (based on reported historical clues) show compatibility with ancient technology and effectiveness.