Leonardo had a lifelong interest in mechanics and inventing new machines. His interest came from the conviction that in four fundamental powers – motion, force, weight and percussion – “all the works of mortals have their beginning and end”.
Codex Arundel, Arundel MS 263, f.231v (1478–1518) by Leonardo da VinciOriginal Source: Arundel MS 263
Mechanics became a key way of understanding the concept of motion, to addition to the analysis of natural phenomena like flowing water.
Leonardo’s study of mechanic motion encompassed the technical problems working machines had to overcome, such as friction between moving parts.
He explored the idea that it might be possible to construct a machine which moved perpetually without any input of energy, only to conclude, after analysis and experiment, that it was an entirely futile endeavour.
Codex Arundel, Arundel MS 263, f.153r (1478–1518) by Leonardo da VinciOriginal Source: Arundel MS 263
Proportional relationships, c.1494
While working at
the court of the Duke of Milan, Leonardo became interested in mathematics.
Leonardo copied this multiplication table from a treatise on arithmetic and
proportion, published by Luca Pacioli in 1494.
Proportional relationships were important to Leonardo’s understanding of mechanics, but also informed his analysis of his studies of the human body. The seated figures shown here are studies related to The Last Supper, which Leonardo was also working on in at this time
Codex Arundel, Arundel MS 263, ff.164v-165r (1478–1518) by Leonardo da VinciOriginal Source: Arundel MS 263
These sketches show Leonardo thinking about waterwheels during the time he was employed by the Florentine government as a ‘Master of Water’ in the 1500s.
This drawing shows a waterwheel designed to raise water from a swamp. The line at the top marked a to b in Leonardo’s reversed handwriting represents the river flow, which works the left-hand wheel as the wheel on the right draws water up.
At the time Leonardo was exploring ways of using canals and waterwheels to irrigate the land around Florence, and provide power for mills.
Codex Arundel, Arundel MS 263, ff.040v-041r (1478–1518) by Leonardo da VinciOriginal Source: Arundel MS 263
Calculating frictional force, c.1503-05
While many writers
took a theoretical approach to mechanics, Leonardo was more interested in practical
matters. This sheet demonstrates his interest in the material construction of
machines, and how friction between moving parts result in the loss of energy.
This machine was intended to measure frictional force by using a weight attached to a cylinder.
Codex Arundel, Arundel MS 263, ff.066v-067r (1478–1518) by Leonardo da VinciOriginal Source: Arundel MS 263
Statics
Many sheets of the Codex Arundel are devoted to the study of the laws of balance or statics, an ancient science, developed in the Middle Ages.
Leonardo, in an original way, applied his knowledge of statics to the physical world, considering also variables such as friction.
Codex Arundel, Arundel MS 263, ff.044v-059r (1478–1518) by Leonardo da VinciOriginal Source: Arundel MS 263
Studies for a perpetual motion wheel, 1493–94 and 1947–1500
Leonardo explored a
number of different ideas for perpetual motion wheels in his notebooks. In this
sheet of the Codex Arundel, Leonardo sought to work out how in geometrical and
mechanical terms a perpetual motion wheel might operate.
The idea is that the weighted balls in each of the sixteen segments of the wheel disrupt the balance sufficiently as they roll to generate a momentum that continually rotates the wheel.
Animation of Leonardo da Vinci’s perpetual motion wheelThe British Library
This animation of a perpetual motion wheel shows how one of Leonardo’s thought experiments might have worked. In reality the wheel would always come to a stop.
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