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Perpetual motion pumping system

Leonardo da Vinci1490/1495

Museo Galileo - Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza

Museo Galileo - Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza
Italy

Large pumping system designed to feed the water supply of a multi-storey building. Two large pumps alternately load water into the upper right and left drawers at the ends of a rocker arm. By oscillating, this, in turn, sets in motion the pumps placed in a chamber in the subsoil. Ideally, the machine should move continuously, ensuring the filling of the tank on the first floor, from which the water can be redistributed to the users as it descends. In the drawing some details are worth noting, such as the valve system that allows the pump to work. Leonardo draw the section of the pump, highlighting the strong reduction in diameter between the pump and the piping to underline the relationship between the reduced run of the large pistons and the considerable height to which a reduced volume of water is raised. This device for self-propelling the pistons is also developed by Leonardo in other hydraulic systems, such as those illustrated in folios 25r, 137r, 279r, 1116r and 1117r-a of the Codex Atlanticus.

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  • Title: Perpetual motion pumping system
  • Creator: Leonardo da Vinci
  • Date Created: 1490/1495
  • Subject Keywords: Leonardo da Vinci, Perpetual motion
  • More Information: 07_ATL.0358.1
Museo Galileo - Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza

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