The name of the legendary Leonardo da Vinci is forever associated with his imperishable paintings “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper” adorning the Dominican monastery in Milan. But this was truly a man of encyclopedic knowledge, who became famous in various fields of science, including physics, biology, medicine. Today we shake off the dust from the yellowed manuscripts stored in the archives and present the inventions of Leonardo da Vinci, a universal man who was far ahead of his time.
1
Wheel lock for pistol
This was the only invention that gained recognition during the life of an outstanding person. Leonardo, for the first time in his Codex Atlanticus work, introduced a wheeled lock design.
In the photo: A pistol with a wheeled lock, invented by Leonardo Da Vinci
The lock was wound with a key, and, when you pull the trigger with the help of a spring, it set in motion a wheel with notches. The trigger itself was equipped with flint. As a result of friction sparks were cut out, which ignited the powder charge.
Such locks replaced wicks, and in the XV-XVII centuries became a common mechanism for firearms. In the modern world, a similar principle of spark cutting is used in some types of lighters.
2
Hang glider
The idea of flying excited Leonardo in his early youth. For a long time watching the flights of birds, an inquisitive young man, of course, familiar with the legends of Daedalus and Icarus, first created wings like feathery wings.
British scientists found several drawings of the Leonardo aircraft, where the movable wings were attached to the human body, and were set in motion by the pilot turning the pedals. By the way, in such devices were involved not only the legs, but also the hands of the pilot.
But experiments with moving wings did not lead to success, and the scientist created the planned apparatus, a prototype of modern hang gliders. The hang glider created according to his drawings during the experiment lasted 17 seconds in the air, and rose to a height of 10 meters.
3
Ornithopter
Let us dwell in more detail on another aircraft, a drawing of which was found in manuscripts of a natural scientist. This is his famous ornithopter, capable of theoretically raising a person to heaven like a bird.
A device that looked like a big bird was supposed to fly into the air as soon as a person turned the handle, and then use the strength of the muscles for systematic swings.
Modern scientists have proven that if you understand the ornithopter into the sky and launch, it is able to fly, but it’s not enough human muscle to lift it from the earth into the sky.
4
Bearing
Today, this seemingly simple mechanism is indispensable in human life, because many modern devices simply could not work without bearings.
Historians believe that the first prototypes of such a mechanism appeared in the period of the Ancient World. But considering the entries in the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, scientists came to the conclusion that many of his mechanical inventions were set in motion precisely with the help of a bearing.
But, as it happens with simple but brilliant discoveries of the great inventor, his idea was lost in time, and someone else reinvented the bearing.
5
Parachute
The list, which included the scientific achievements of Leonardo da Vinci, would not be complete if the parachute were not mentioned. The scientist, keen on the idea of flying in the sky, naturally, asked himself questions of safe fall.
Well-versed in physics, and understanding the laws of nature, Leonardo described a device with which you could drift in the air.
His parachute had a pyramidal shape, covered in fabric. As he himself wrote in his notes, such a design would allow a person to "fall from any height without any injuries or damage." Invented the XXI century, fully proved the viability of the design of the parachute of Leonardo da Vinci.
6
Machine gun
Naturally, the da Vinci machine gun was not such in the modern sense of the man of this formidable type of firearm. The “33-barrel organ” could not fire bullets from a single barrel, but would fire, if it were built, with simultaneous salvos.
The design was simple. On a triangular platform with a rotating mechanism, three rows of 11 muskets were installed. The first row fired a salvo, while the other two cooled and recharged at that time. Then the mechanism turned and issued another deadly salvo.
The scientist himself stated that he hated war, but he needed funds for research, and he hoped to convince the moneybags to buy a dangerous invention from him.
7
Armored tank
The drawings of the armored tank once again prove that Leonardo was far ahead of his time. According to his plan, eight men were placed inside an armored capsule equipped with a mobile mechanism and 36 guns.
In short, with the help of such a “medieval tank” the soldiers could get into the thick of the battle without being killed, but their guns arranged in a circle could cause serious harm to the enemy.
Interestingly, there was a significant drawback in the scheme, the front and rear wheels spun in different directions. Perhaps the scientist simply did not want his formidable brainchild to be realized.
8
Diving suit
Leonardo lived in Venice, a wealthy port city for which the problem of repelling enemy ships was quite relevant. The scientist suggested destroying enemy ships with the help of divers.
According to his plan, divers would sink to the bottom of the harbor, and simply open the bottoms of the ships. To do this, he developed two types of structures. With the first design, a person breathed with a bell filled with air. In the second case, a person breathed with wine bottles, also filled with air.
The Da Vinci plan was practical, but the use of divers was not needed, since the Venetian fleet repelled the attack of the enemy without the help of underwater saboteurs.
9
Car
Now it’s clear why Italians create such magnificent cars, because their famous ancestor created a prototype of this now popular vehicle.
The three-wheeled self-propelled trolley Leonardo was equipped with a spring, which also set the wheels in motion. Most likely, it provided a mechanism similar to a clock spring, and the steering wheel was programmed by a number of blocks in the transmission chain. Although scientists have not figured out what brought the design into motion.
Since the trolley was moving without a driver, it can be considered not only the first car in the world, but also the first robotic transport in the history of Mankind.
By the way, TheBiggest.ru has a very fascinating article about the largest cars in the world.
10
City of the future
Medieval cities, due to their dense population and unsanitary conditions, were exposed to epidemics of dangerous diseases that claimed thousands of lives.
Leonardo thought about designing a city that would be suitable for life and minimize the possibility of epidemics. According to his plan, the ideal city was to consist of three levels equipped with a network of channels that discharged waste. The hydraulic system provided residents with clean water.
It is noteworthy that the theory of microbial diseases was developed by doctors only in the twentieth century, and the Italian already in the XV century proposed the idea of combating dangerous diseases.
11
Air propeller
Scientists all over the world have come to the unequivocal conclusion that the propeller found in the painter’s recordings is the most original and advanced invention of the time.
At its core, this was the first helicopter, whose blades, rotating, created aerodynamic traction, lifting the entire structure into the air. It looked like a huge pinwheel, and the wooden blades were covered with linen cloth.
Could such a design fly? Maybe not, but if it had been designed, it would have made a lasting impression on contemporaries.
12
Knight robot
The knowledge of the anatomy and mathematical proportions of Leonardo da Vinci is truly impressive. What is his Vitruvian man, drawn in pencil. But in the field of anatomy, there is another discovery that once struck the scientific world.
Thinking for a long time about the structure of the human body, the scientist laid the principle of human movement with the help of muscles and bones and into the machine he created. Scientists suggest that Leonardo managed to create a robot knight, but he was not used in battle, but for entertainment at the parties of his patron Lodovico Sforza.
Thus, the great man became a pioneer in the field of creating the first humanoid robots.
13
Lifebuoy
A versatile person who left a significant mark on art has created many useful things, including a lifebuoy.
Most likely, the tool for helping drowning people was designed by Leonardo da Vinci during his life in Venice, and had the shape of a horseshoe. We did not get information from what material lifebuoys were created by scientists, but on the canals of Venice and at sea they were an effective means of saving people.
The first circles in the fleet appeared only at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, and became an indispensable element in equipping the ship.
14
Floodlight
In the scientist's notes, a drawing of the world's first searchlight was also discovered, which, most likely, was put into practice.
The device is quite simple, and at the same time effective. The candle was placed in the center of the structure, equipped with two powerful lenses. Refraction of the candle light through the lenses created an angular concentration of the light flux.
Note that the design of the spotlight was found in the "Atlantic Notes", the pages of which were written by Leonardo from the late 70s of the 15th century to 1519.
15
Bicycle
The presentation of the first bicycle took place in 1801, and only after that, a drawing of a two-wheeled device with a steering wheel and a chain transmission was found in the records of Leonardo da Vinci.
Scientists disagree on who owns the idea of building a bicycle, Leonardo himself, or his student Giacomo Carpoti. Some medieval scholars have even hypothesized that this is fake. But by analogy with other inventions of the scientist, it can be assumed that the great minds were quite capable of creating a bicycle project.
So it turns out that such a simple means of transportation, like a bicycle, was invented twice.
16
Crossbow
The size of the crossbow in the figure of Leonardo da Vinci was many times larger than the size of a conventional hand crossbow. Judging by the picture, such a large design provided great striking power to the giant crossbow.
Based on the description of the scientist himself, the shoulder solution of his invention was equal to 42 shoulder arms, which, translating into the usual measure of length for us, was 24 meters.
For such a crossbow, a special trigger was developed in the form of a drum, and the most powerful gun was mounted on a wheeled cart.
So we learned what he invented and what Leonardo da Vinci discovered. As we see, many scientific discoveries and inventions have much determined their time, and most importantly, they have given new areas of research in various fields of science.
Unrecognized during his lifetime, his scientific discoveries and inventions do not at all plead the merits of Leonardo da Vinci to humanity, because many of his guesses have received theoretical confirmation and practical application, and the development has been successfully implemented.
Article author: Valery Skiba