Item designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Technical inventions of Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci rightfully occupies one of the first places among inventors of all centuries and peoples. He was able to predict and predetermine the course of many inventions and thought in a way that was at odds with the then generally accepted norms and approaches. In this article you will learn what Leonardo da Vinci invented. We will try to give the entire list of Leonardo's inventions and reveal as much as possible the principles and essence of the operation of his mechanisms.

AIRCRAFTS

Leonardo da Vinci was almost obsessed with dreams of flying machines and the possibility of flight, because no machine is capable of causing the same reverent admiration and surprise as a machine capable of soaring in the air like a bird.

In his notes one could find the following thought: “watch a fish swim and you will learn the secret of flight.” Leonardo managed to make an intellectual breakthrough. He realized that water behaved like air, so he gained applied knowledge of how to create lift and showed an extraordinary understanding of the subject that amazes experts to this day.

One of the interesting concepts found in the work of the genius is a prototype of a helicopter or propeller-driven vertical aircraft.

Around the sketch there is also a description of the da Vinci propeller (helicon). The screw coating had to be thread-thick iron. The height should be approximately 5 meters, and the radius of the screw should be about 2 meters. The device had to be driven by the muscle power of four people.

In the video below, four enthusiastic engineers, a historian and a light airplane specialist tried to develop the idea of Leonardo's helicopter and try to make it fly, although they were allowed to use a number of modern technologies and materials. As a result, it turned out that this design has a number of serious shortcomings, the main one of which was the lack of thrust necessary for flight, so enthusiasts went for significant modifications, but whether they succeeded or not, find out from the video.

Leonardo da Vinci's plane

The inventor did not sit with the idea of a helicopter for long and decided to move on, trying to create a prototype of the aircraft. Here birds were the source of knowledge.

Below in the picture are drawings of the wings, as well as sketches of a hang glider, which, after construction in our time, turned out to be quite functional.

Although his invention cannot be fully called an airplane, it is best suited to be called a flywheel or ornithopter, that is, an aircraft lifted into the air due to the reaction of air with its planes (wings), to which the flapping motion is transmitted through muscular effort, like in birds

Leonardo carefully began to make calculations and he started with ducks. He measured the length of the duck's wing, after which it turned out that the length of the wing was equal to the square root of its weight. Based on these premises, Leonardo decided that in order to lift his flywheel with a person on board into the air (which reached about 136 kilograms), it would be necessary to create bird-like wings 12 meters long.

Interesting fact about hang gliding. In the game Assasin's Creed 2, the main character uses Da Vinci's flying machine (hang glider) to fly from one end of the city of Venice to the other.

And if you are a fan of Bruce Willis' films, you may remember that in the movie "Hudson Hawk" a hang glider and da Vinci's parachute are mentioned. And the main character even flew on a da Vinci hang glider.

Leonardo da Vinci's parachute

Of course, Leonardo did not invent his parachute in order to escape in the event of an aircraft crash; it was also an aircraft that would allow a smooth descent from a great height. Below is a sketch of the parachute, its calculations and design.

The inventor's parachute has the shape of a pyramid covered with thick fabric. The base of the pyramid was about 7 meters 20 cm long.

Interestingly, it was in Russia that the inventor Kotelnikov would perfect the da Vinci parachute, making the first backpack parachute in history that could be attached to the pilot’s back and used during ejection.

In 2000, parachutist from England Andrian Nicholas decided to test Leonardo’s invention in the form in which he invented it, replacing only the material in it, realizing that flax would not withstand such a load. The first attempt was a failure, so he had to use a reserve parachute. True, in 2008 the Swiss Olivier Tepp managed to achieve success. He abandoned the rigid structure of the parachute and jumped from a height of 650 meters. The naturalist claims that the descent itself turned out to be safe, but it is impossible to control such a parachute.

INVENTIONS FROM THE FIELD OF ARCHITECTURE AND CONSTRUCTION

Leonardo also achieved impressive knowledge in the field of architecture and construction. He studied the strength and resistance of materials, discovered a number of fundamental principles, and was able to understand how best to move various objects.

Leonardo studied the force required to lift bodies of varying masses. To lift a heavy object up an inclined plane, the idea of using a system of screws, winches and capstans was considered.

Crane for lifting long objects

The base of the beam or pole rests on a special platform with a pair of wheels, which is pulled up by a horizontal rope from below. The force that must be applied to pull up the horizontal rope always remains constant, and the column moves in a straight line.

Leonardo invented a system of wheels and hammers for lifting loads. The operation of the system is similar to the work of hammer blows during coining, only this all happens on a special gear wheel. Three hammers with a special wedge inserted between the pins hit the wheel, rotating it and the drum where the load is attached.

Mobile crane and screw lift

A tall crane is shown in the sketch on the right. As you might guess, it was intended for the construction of tall buildings and structures (towers, domes, bell towers, and so on). The crane was placed on a special trolley, which moved along a guide rope that stretched above the crane.

The screw lift is shown in the sketch on the left and was intended for installing columns and lifting other heavy objects. The design consists of a huge screw, which is driven by the force of four people. It is clear that in this case the height and general design of such a lift limits the possibilities of its use.

Sketch of a trolley crane and a screw lift

Ring platform crane

This crane is very similar to modern cranes in its functionality and was used by builders at the end of the 14th century. This lift allows you to move heavy objects around you. For its operation it was necessary to use two workers. The first was on the lower platform and used a drum to lift heavy objects, and the second worker was on the upper platform and used a steering wheel to rotate the lift around its axis. The crane also had wheels that allowed it to be moved. Such cranes were used during Leonardo's time to install pillars and columns, build high walls, church domes, house roofs and more. Since the cars were wooden, they were usually burned after use.

Leonardo da Vinci excavators

Today, hardly anyone can be surprised by an excavator, but few people think about how they were invented. There is a point of view that prototypes of excavators were used back in Ancient Egypt during the construction of canals and dredging of river beds, but the truly conceptual model of the excavator was, of course, invented by the great Leonardo da Vinci.

Excavators of the Renaissance, of course, were not particularly automatic and required the manual labor of workers, but they greatly facilitated it, because now it was easier for workers to move the excavated soil. Sketches of excavators give us an idea of how huge the machines were at that time. The excavator used the principle of monorail movement, that is, it moved along one rail, while covering the entire width of the canal, and the booms of its cranes could rotate 180°.

Fortress tower and double spiral staircase

In the picture you can see a sketch of part of the fortress. To the left of the fortress tower there is a sketch of a spiral staircase, which is an important component of the tower. The design of the staircase is similar to the well-known Archimedes screw. If you look closely at the staircase, you will notice that it is double and its parts do not intersect, that is, you and your friend can go up or down different spirals of the staircase and not know about each other. This way you can go down one side and go up the other. without interfering with each other. This is an extremely useful property during the hustle and bustle of war. Each part, accordingly, has its own entrance and exit. The sketch doesn't have steps added, but the actual staircase has them.

The staircase, invented by Leonardo, was built after his death in 1519 in France inside the Chateau de Chambord, which served as a royal residence. There are 77 staircases in Chambord, some spiral ones, but only the double spiral staircase, made according to da Vinci's sketches, has become an interesting attraction.

A labyrinthine building with many staircases, entrances and exits

Leonardo also thought about more sophisticated architectural concepts using stairs. In this case, it’s a real labyrinth! This structure has 4 entrances and 4 staircases, which spiral in a spiral one above the other, wrapping around a central column in the form of a square pillar. Leonardo was excellent at finding harmonious structures, combining the geometric features of space, lines, shapes and materials, ultimately creating holistic, self-sufficient the buildings.

Sliding (swing) bridge

Sketch of a swing bridge by Leonardo da Vinci

Another bridge, which, unfortunately, remained only a project, is a bridge capable of passing ships sailing along the river. Its main difference from modern bridges that operate on the opening principle is the ability to rotate like a door. This effect is achieved through a system of capstans, hinges, winches and counterweights, where one end of the bridge is fixed to a special rotating mechanism, and the other end is slightly raised for rotation.

Self-supporting (“mobile”) bridge

This bridge is the answer to the question: “how can you quickly build a full-fledged crossing using improvised means?” Moreover, the answer is extremely beautiful and original.

Sketch of a self-supporting bridge by Leonardo da Vinci

This bridge forms an arch, that is, it is arched, and the assembly itself does not require either nails or ropes. The load distribution in the bridge structure occurs due to the mutual expansion and pressure of the elements on each other. You can assemble such a bridge in any place where trees grow, and they grow almost everywhere.

The purpose of the bridge was military and was necessary for the mobile and secret movement of troops. Leonardo imagined that such a bridge could be built by a small group of soldiers using trees growing nearby. Leonardo himself called his bridge “Reliability”.

Suspension bridge

This type of bridge was another example of a mobile prefabricated bridge that soldiers could assemble using ropes and winches. Such a bridge was quickly assembled and dismantled after itself during the advances and retreats of troops.

As in many of Leonardo da Vinci's designs, the principles of tension, statics and resistance of materials are used here. The structure of this bridge is similar to that of suspension bridges, where the main load-bearing elements are also made of winches and ropes and do not require additional supports.

This bridge, created 500 years ago, could serve as a good military device during the Second World War. Later, engineers of subsequent centuries came to the conclusion that this type of bridge design was optimal, and the principles used in the suspension bridge are also used in many modern bridges.

Bridge for the Turkish Sultan

In 1502-1503, Sultan Bayezid II began to look for projects to build a bridge across the Golden Horn Bay. Leonardo proposed an interesting bridge project to the Sultan, which involved building a bridge 240 meters long and 24 meters wide, which at that time looked like something grandiose. It is also interesting to note that another project was proposed by Michelangelo. True, none of the projects managed to be implemented in practice.

500 years have passed and Norway has become interested in the concept of the bridge. In 2001, near Oslo in the small town of As, a smaller copy of the Da Vinci Bridge was built. Architects and builders tried not to deviate from the master’s drawings, but in some places they used modern materials and technologies.

City of the future by Leonardo da Vinci

In 1484-1485, a plague broke out in Milan, from which about 50 thousand people died. Leonardo da Vinci suggested that the cause of the plague was unsanitary conditions, dirt and overpopulation, so he proposed to Duke Ludovico Sforza to build a new city, devoid of all these problems. Leonardo's project would now remind us of various attempts by science fiction writers to depict a utopian city in which there are no problems, where technology is the solution to everything.

Sketches of the streets of Leonardo da Vinci's ideal city of the future

According to the plan of the great genius, the city consisted of 10 districts, where 30,000 people were supposed to live, with each district and house in it provided with an individual water supply, and the width of the streets had to be at least equal to the average height of a horse (much later, the Council of State of London reported that these data the proportions are ideal and all streets in London should be brought in accordance with them). Moreover, the city was multi-tiered. The tiers were connected through stairs and passages. The uppermost tier was occupied by influential and wealthy representatives of society, and the lower tier of the city was reserved for merchants and the provision of various types of services.

The city could become the greatest achievement of architectural thought of its time and could realize many of the technical achievements of the great inventor. You shouldn’t really think that the city was all mechanisms; first of all, Leonardo emphasized convenience, practicality and hygiene. The squares and streets were designed to be extremely spacious, which did not correspond to medieval ideas of the time.

An important point was the system of water canals connecting the entire city. Through a complex hydraulic system, water came to every city building. Da Vinci believed that this would help eliminate an unsanitary lifestyle and reduce the occurrence of plague and other diseases to a minimum.

Ludovico Sforza considered this project adventurous and refused to implement it. Towards the very end of his life, Leonardo tried to present this project to the King of France, Francis I, but the project, unfortunately, did not interest anyone and remained unrealized.

WATER MECHANISMS AND DEVICES

Leonardo created many sketches dedicated to water devices, water manipulation devices, various water pipes and fountains, as well as irrigation machines. Leonardo loved water so much that he did everything that came into contact with water in any way.

Improved Archimedes screw

The ancient Greeks, represented by Archimedes, long ago invented a device that made it possible to raise water using mechanics rather than manual labor. This mechanism was invented around 287-222 BC. Leonardo da Vinci improved the Archimedes mechanism. He carefully considered the various relationships between the angle of the axle and the required number of spirals to select the optimal parameters. Thanks to improvements, the propeller mechanism began to deliver a larger volume of water with fewer losses.

In the sketch the screw is shown on the left. It is a tightly wrapped tube. Water rises through the tube and flows from a special bathroom to the top. By rotating the handle, water will flow in a continuous stream.

The Archimedes screw is still used to irrigate farmland, and the principles of the screw form the basis of many industrial pumping stations and pumps.

Water wheel

Leonardo tried to find the most optimal way to use the power and energy of water using various systems of wheels. He studied hydrodynamics and eventually invented the water wheel, which is shown in the sketch below. Special bowls were made in the wheel, which scooped water from the lower container and poured it into the upper one.

This wheel was used to clean canals and dredge the bottom. Located on a raft and having four blades, the water wheel was driven by hand and collected silt. The silt was placed on a raft, which was secured between two boats. The wheel also moved along a vertical axis, which made it possible to adjust the scooping depth of the wheel.

Water wheel with buckets

Leonardo proposed an interesting way to deliver water in a city. For this, a system of buckets and chains on which the buckets were attached was used. The interesting thing is that the mechanism did not require a person to operate, since all the work was done by the river through a water wheel.

Gate for sluice

The inventor improved the sluice gate system. The amount of water could now be controlled to equalize the pressure on both sides of the sluice gates, making them easier to operate. To do this, Leonardo made a small gate with a bolt in the large gate.

Leonardo also invented a canal with a lock system that allowed ships to continue navigation even on slopes. The gate system made it possible to control the water level so that ships could pass through the water without difficulty.

Breathing apparatus underwater

Leonardo loved water so much that he came up with instructions for diving under water, developed and described a diving suit.

Divers, according to Leonardo’s logic, should have participated in anchoring the ship. Divers in such a suit could breathe using the air found in the underwater bell. The suits also had glass masks that allowed them to see underwater. The suit also had an improved breathing tube, which was used by divers in more ancient times. The hose is made of reed, and the joints are sealed with waterproof material. The hose itself has a spring insert, which allows the hose to increase its strength (after all, there is a lot of water pressure at the bottom), and also makes it more flexible.

In 2002, professional diver Jacques Cozens conducted an experiment and made a diver's suit according to Leonardo's drawings, making it from pigskin and with bamboo tubes, as well as an air dome. Experience showed that the design was not ideal and the experiment was only partially successful.

Invention of flippers

The webbed glove that Leonardo invented would now be called flippers. It allowed one to stay afloat and increased the distance a person could swim in the sea.

Five long wooden sticks continued the structure of the human skeleton along the phalanges of the fingers and were connected to each other by membranes, like those of waterfowl. Modern fins are based on exactly the same principle.

Invention of water skiing

The inventor tried to solve the problem of soldiers crossing long shallow waters and came to the conclusion that it was possible to use a skin previously filled with air (skin bags), attaching this skin to the legs of people.

If the volume of the bag is sufficient, it will be able to support the weight of a person. Leonardo also intended to use a wooden beam, which had increased buoyancy. Soldiers must take two special processions into their hands. to control your balance and move forward.

Leonardo's idea turned out to be unsuccessful, but a similar principle formed the basis of water skiing.

Lifebuoy

If you translate the inscription located at the bottom of the picture, you can read “How to save lives in the event of a storm or shipwreck.” This simple invention is nothing more than a lifebuoy that allows a person to stay above the water level and not drown. It was assumed that the circle would be made of light oak bark, which could be found everywhere in the Mediterranean.

wheeled boat

In the Middle Ages, seas and rivers remained convenient and optimal transport routes. Milan or Florence were vitally dependent on maritime traffic and the availability of fast and safe water transportation.

Leonardo sketched a boat with a paddle wheel. The four blades are similar in shape to the fins of waterfowl. The man turned the pedals with both feet, thereby rotating the wheel. The principle of reciprocating motion caused the wheel to spin counterclockwise, so the boat began to move forward.

Leonardo boat model

In the video below you can see in more detail the structure of a boat with wheels:

Leonardo da Vinci, whose years of life and death are known to the whole world, is perhaps the most mysterious figure of the Renaissance. Many people care about where Leonardo da Vinci was born and who he was. He is known as an artist, anatomist and engineer. In addition to numerous discoveries, this unique person left behind a huge number of different mysteries that the whole world is trying to solve to this day.

Biography

When was Leonardo da Vinci born? He was born on April 15, 1452. It is interesting to know where Leonardo da Vinci was born, and specifically in which city. Nothing could be simpler. His surname came from the name of his place of birth. Vinci is an Italian city in the then existing Florentine Republic.

Leonardo was the illegitimate child of an official and an ordinary peasant girl. The boy grew up and was brought up in his father's house, thanks to whom he received a good education.

As soon as the future genius turned 15 years old, he became an apprentice to Andrea del Verrocchio, who was a talented sculptor, painter and representative of the Florentine school.

One day Leonardo's teacher took on an interesting job. He agreed to paint an altarpiece in the church of Santi Salvi, which depicted the baptism of Christ by John. Young da Vinci participated in this work. He painted only one angel, which turned out to be an order of magnitude more beautiful than the entire image. This circumstance was the reason that I decided never to pick up brushes again. His young but incredibly talented student was able to surpass his teacher.

After another 5 years, Leonardo da Vinci becomes a member of the guild of artists. There, with particular passion, he began to study the basics of drawing and many other required disciplines. A little later, in 1476, he continued to work with his former teacher and mentor Andrea del Verrocchio, but as a co-author of his creations.

Long-awaited glory

By 1480, the name Leonardo da Vinci became famous. I wonder when Leonardo da Vinci was born, could his contemporaries have imagined that he would become so famous? During this period, the artist received the largest and most expensive orders, but two years later he decided to leave his hometown and moved to Milan. There he continues to work, painting several successful paintings and the famous fresco “The Last Supper”.

It was during this period of his life that Leonardo da Vinci began to keep his own diary. From there we learn that he is no longer just an artist, but also an architect-designer, hydraulic engineer, anatomist, inventor of all kinds of mechanisms and decorations. In addition to all this, he also finds time to write riddles, fables or puzzles. Moreover, his interest in music awakens. And this is only a small part of what Leonardo da Vinci became famous for.

Some time later, the genius realizes that mathematics is much more exciting than painting. He is so keen on exact science that he forgets to even think about painting. Even later, da Vinci begins to show interest in anatomy. He leaves for Rome and stays there for 3 years, living under the “wing” of the Medici family. But very soon joy gives way to sadness and longing. Leonrado da Vinci is upset due to the lack of material for conducting anatomical experiments. Then he tries various experiments, but this also leads to nothing.

Life changes

In 1516, the life of the Italian genius changed dramatically. The king of France notices him, truly admiring his work, and invites him to court. Later, the sculptor would write that although Leonardo’s main job was the very prestigious position of court advisor, he did not forget about his creativity.

It was during this period of life that da Vinci began to develop the idea of an aircraft. At first he manages to come up with a simple design based on wings. In the future, it will serve as the basis for a completely crazy project at that time - an airplane with full control. But even though da Vinci was talented, he was never able to invent a motor. The dream of an airplane turned out to be unrealistic.

Now you know exactly where Leonardo da Vinci was born, what he was interested in and what path of life he had to go through. The Florentine died on May 2, 1519.

Painting by a famous artist

The Italian genius was very versatile, but most people think of him solely as a painter. And this is not without reason. Leonardo da Vinci's painting is true art, and his paintings are true masterpieces. Thousands of scientists from all over the globe are struggling with the mysteries of the most famous works written by the Florentine.

It is quite difficult to choose a few paintings from the whole variety. Therefore, the article will present the top 6 most famous and earliest works of the author.

1. The first work of the famous artist is “Small sketch of a river valley.”

This is a really neat drawing. It shows a castle and a small wooded hillside. The sketch is made with quick strokes using a pencil. The entire landscape is depicted in such a way that it seems as if we are looking at the picture from some high point.

2. “Turin Self-Portrait” - created by the artist at about 60 years old.

This work is interesting to us primarily because it gives us an idea of what the great Leonardo da Vinci looked like. Although there is an opinion that a completely different person is depicted here. Many art historians consider the “self-portrait” to be a sketch for the famous “La Gioconda”. This work is considered one of Leonardo's best works.

3. “Mona Lisa” or “La Gioconda” is the most famous and, perhaps, the most mysterious painting by the Italian artist, painted around 1514 - 1515.

This in itself is the most interesting fact about Leonardo da Vinci. There are so many theories and assumptions associated with the picture that it is impossible to count them all. Many experts argue that the canvas depicts an ordinary landscape against the backdrop of a very unusual landscape. Some believe that this is a portrait of the Duchess of Costanza d'Avalos. According to others, the wife of Francesco del Gioconda is in the picture. But there is also a more modern version. It says that the great artist captured the widow of Giovanni Antonio Brandano named Pacifica.

4. “Vitruvian Man” - a drawing created as an illustration for a book approximately in 1490-1492.

It shows a very nice naked man in two slightly different positions, superimposed on top of each other. This work received the status of not only a work of art, but also a scientific work.

5. “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci - a painting that shows the moment Jesus Christ announced to his disciples that he would be betrayed by one of them. Created in 1495-1498.

This work is as mysterious and enigmatic as La Gioconda. Perhaps the most truly amazing thing about this picture is the story of its composition. According to many historians, Leonardo da Vinci could not write Judas and Christ for a long time. Once he was lucky enough to find a beautiful young man in the church choir, so spiritual and bright that the author’s doubts disappeared - here he is, the prototype of Jesus. But the image of Judas still remained unfinished. For three long years Leonardo walked through the seedy alleys, looking for the most degraded and vile person. One day he found one like this. It was a drunk in a gutter. Da Vinci brought it to his workshop and painted Judas from it. How unimaginable was the author’s surprise when it turned out that he based Jesus and the disciple who betrayed him on the same person, simply met at different periods of the latter’s life.

“The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci is also famous for the fact that the master depicted Mary Magdalene at the right hand of Christ. Because he placed her this way, many began to claim that she was the legal wife of Jesus. There was even a hypothesis that the contours of the bodies of Christ and Mary Magdalene represent the letter M, which means “Matrimonio”, that is, marriage.

6. “Madonna Litta” - a painting dedicated to the Mother of God and the Child Christ.

On hand, this is a very traditional religious plot. But it was Leonardo da Vinci’s painting that became one of the best in this subject. In fact, this masterpiece is not very large in size, only 42 x 33 cm. But it still truly amazes with its beauty and purity. This picture is also notable for its mysterious details. Why does a baby hold a chick in his hand? For what reason is his mother's dress torn in the place where the baby is pressed to her chest? And why is the picture so dark?

The paintings of Leonardo da Vinci are not just beautiful canvases, it is a whole separate type of art, striking the imagination with its indescribable splendor and bewitching secrets.

What did the great creator leave to the world?

What was Leonardo da Vinci famous for besides his paintings? Undoubtedly, he was talented in many areas that, it would seem, cannot be combined with each other at all. However, despite all his genius, he had one interesting character trait that did not really fit with his work - he liked to abandon the work he had begun and leave it like that forever. But nevertheless, Leonardo da Vinci still completed several truly brilliant discoveries. They changed the then ideas about life.

Leonardo da Vinci's discoveries are amazing. What can we say about a man who created an entire science? Are you familiar with paleontology? But it was Leonardo da Vinci who was its founder. It was he who first made an entry in his diary about a certain rare fossil that he managed to discover. Scientists are still wondering what they were talking about. Only a rough description is known: a certain stone that looks like a fossilized honeycomb and has a hexagonal shape. Leonardo also described the first ideas about paleontology as a science in general.

Thanks to da Vinci, people learned to jump out of airplanes without crashing. After all, it was he who invented the parachute. Of course, initially it was only a prototype of a modern parachute and it looked completely different, but this does not make the importance of the invention any less. In his diary, the master wrote about a piece of linen fabric, 11 meters long and wide. He was confident that this would help the person land without any injury. And as time has shown, he was absolutely right.

Of course, the helicopter was invented much later than Leonardo da Vinci died, but the idea of the flying machine belonged to him. It does not at all look like what we now call a helicopter, but rather resembles an inverted round table with one leg, to which pedals are screwed. It was thanks to them that the invention was supposed to fly.

Unbelievable but true

What else did Leonardo da Vinci create? Incredibly, he also had a hand in robotics. Just think, back in the 15th century he personally designed the first model of the so-called robot. His invention had many complex mechanisms and springs. But most importantly, this robot was humanoid and could even move its arms. In addition, the Italian genius came up with several mechanical lions. They could move on their own using mechanisms like sentries.

Leonardo da Vinci made so many discoveries on earth that he became interested in something new in space. He could spend hours looking at the stars. And although it cannot be said that he invented a telescope, in one of his books you can find instructions for creating something very similar to it.

We even owe our cars to Da Vinci. He came up with a wooden model of a car with three wheels. This entire structure was driven by a special mechanism. Many scientists believe that this idea was born back in 1478.

Among other things, Leonardo was also interested in military affairs. He came up with a multi-barrel and rapid-fire weapon - a machine gun, or rather, its prototype.

Of course, Leonardo da Vinci could not help but come up with something for painters. It was he who developed an artistic technique in which all distant things appear blurry. He also invented chiaroscuro.

It is worth noting that all of Leonardo da Vinci’s discoveries turned out to be very useful, and some of his developments are still used today. They are only slightly improved.

Yet we cannot help but admit that Leonardo da Vinci, whose contribution to science was enormous, was a real genius.

Water is Leonardo da Vinci's favorite element

If you love diving or have dived to significant depths at least once in your life, then thank Leonardo da Vinci. It was he who invented scuba gear. Da Vinci designed a kind of floating cork buoy that held a reed tube above the water for air. It was also he who invented the leather air bag.

Leonardo da Vinci, biology

The genius was interested in everything: the principles of breathing, yawning, coughing, vomiting, and especially the beating of the heart. Leonardo da Vinci studied biology, closely connecting it with physiology. It was he who first described the heart as a muscle and almost came to the conclusion that it was it that pumped blood in the human body. Yes Vichni even attempted to create a prosthetic aortic valve through which blood flow passed.

Anatomy as art

Everyone knows that da Vinci was interested in anatomy. In 2005, researchers discovered his secret laboratory, where he allegedly dissected bones from corpses. And it apparently had an effect. It was da Vinci who accurately described the shape of the human spine. Among other things, there is an opinion that he discovered diseases such as atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis. The Italian also managed to distinguish himself in dentistry. Leonardo was the first person to depict the correct structure of teeth in the oral cavity, describing in detail their number.

Do you wear glasses or contacts? And for this we should thank Leonardo. In 1509, he wrote down in his diary a certain model of how and with what help the optical power of the human eye can be changed.

Leonardo da Vinci, whose contribution to science is simply invaluable, created, studied or discovered so many things that it is impossible to count. The greatest discoveries definitely belong to his ingenious hands and head.

He was a very mysterious figure. And, of course, to this day various interesting facts about Leonardo da Vinci appear.

It is known for certain that he was a cryptographer. Leonardo wrote with his left hand and in very small letters. And he did it from right to left. But by the way, Da Vinci wrote equally well with both hands.

The Florentine always spoke in riddles and even made prophecies, most of which came true.

It is interesting that a monument to him was erected not where Leonardo da Vinci was born, but in a completely different place - in Milan.

It is believed that the Italian was a vegetarian. But this did not prevent him from being the manager of court feasts for thirteen years. He even came up with several culinary “helpers” to make the chefs’ work easier.

Among other things, the Florentine played the lyre incredibly beautifully. But even this is not all the interesting facts about Leonardo da Vinci.

Capturing the scale of Leonardo da Vinci's personality is impossible. A person who became a legend during his lifetime remains a legend and an unattainable ideal in the modern world.

The genius or, as he is often called, the titan of the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci, is a truly unique personality. His life is an amazing kaleidoscope - in all areas that he undertook, from painting to complex engineering inventions, he achieved incredible heights. Meanwhile, we know almost nothing about Leonardo himself - he was a very secretive and lonely person, and the first biography was written 30 years after his death by Giorgio Vasari.

Leonardo was born on April 15, 1452 in the small town of Vinci in northwestern Italy. The history of his family holds several mysteries, since it is unknown who his mother was. All sources indicate that her name was Katerina, but what she did is an open question. Traditionally it is believed that she was a simple, young peasant woman. Leonardo's father was the notary Piero da Vinci, who was 25 years old at that time. The father was present at the child's baptism and recognized him, but for unknown reasons, Leonardo spent the first 4 years of his life in the village of Anhiano. In the year of his son's birth, Piero marries Albier Amador and only 4 years later takes his son to live with him. The position of a notary in those days was considered quite noble, so Leonardo spent his childhood and youth in prosperity and prosperity. The father was married 3 times, had 12 children and lived to be 77 years old. But he, as Vasari noted, was an ordinary person, which makes Leonardo’s unusualness even more interesting. One way or another, the father still gave his son a good home education, albeit unsystematic, which Leonardo later mentioned in his notes.

The young man's talent manifested itself at an early age. An interesting episode is in which Pierre da Vinci asked his son to paint a large wooden shield as a gift to one of his neighbors. Leonardo approached the matter with joy and great responsibility, choosing the image of the Gorgon Medusa for the design on the shield. The drawing was made so realistically that when my father saw it, he literally reeled in horror. Of course, he could not give such a masterpiece as a gift and kept it for himself. Now a copy of this shield by Caravaggio is kept in one of the museums in France. It was probably after this incident that Piero decided to send his son to study in Florence, where Leonardo, under the edification of the famous artist Verrocchio, studied painting. Thus began a period in the life of Leonardo da Vinci, called the Florentine period.

Florence at that time was one of the main centers of the intellectual elite of all Western Europe. Leonardo, having found himself among such famous artists as Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Bellini and many others, stands out for his detachment and loneliness. It is clearly evident in his notes that his loneliness is conscious. He believed that “if you are lonely, then you are completely your own,” and did not seek to make close acquaintances with anyone. This is partly why he was not part of the circle of intellectuals of the Florentine ruler Lorenzo de' Medici. But not only because of this he could not get into the intellectual environment of that time. One of the reasons was something that Leonardo himself was annoyed about - his poor knowledge of Latin, which until modern times was considered the main language of science. But another reason was more important - Leonardo was an artist, and during the Renaissance, artists were considered more likely to be artisans or even professional painters carrying out orders; artists were treated like servants. Not appreciated by the circle of humanist intellectuals, da Vinci's talent amazed Verrocchio. While working in the workshop, the teacher instructed Leonardo to paint an angel on one of his canvases. The figure of an angel painted by da Vinci impressed the teacher so much that, according to Vasari, he never picked up a brush again. The student surpassed the teacher. Soon Leonardo opens his own workshop.

At this time, Pope Sixtus IV invited the best Tuscan craftsmen to work in the Vatican. Among them were Ghirlandaio, Botticelli, Perugino, Philip Lippi, Signorelli and many others, but not Leonardo. It is possible that the underrated genius felt some annoyance at what happened and decided to move to Milan. In addition, his engineering and scientific inclinations were already increasingly mastering him, and Milan at that time was almost the opposite of sophisticated Florence - it was an industrial city, where many craftsmen, gunsmiths and artisans established strong production. Leonardo asks for patronage from local businessman Lodovico Sforza, and positions himself primarily not as an artist, but as an engineer, talking in a letter about his own engineering ideas, such as cannons, closed chariots, catapults and ballistas, and only mentions in one line about his artistic activities. Sforza takes Leonardo to court and gives him various tasks, both engineering and related to art. One of the tasks was the construction of a monument to the founder of the Sforza dynasty - Francesco Sforza. The statue in the form of a horse with a rider was supposed to become a symbol of the legitimacy and majesty of the family’s power, and Leonardo set to work. Work on the monument continued for 16 years. After several unsuccessful castings, a clay statue of the horse was made, but due to the French invasion of Milan in 1499, it was irretrievably lost. Fortunately, the drawings have been preserved, from which one can judge the extraordinary nature of Leonardo’s idea.

The Milanese period increasingly confirmed the engineering and artistic talent of Leonardo da Vinci. It was then that his paintings “Lady with an Ermine”, “Madonna Litta”, “Madonna in the Grotto”, “The Last Supper”, and many anatomical and simple pencil drawings appeared. One of the most famous drawings by Leonardo da Vinci is the Vitruvian Man - the figure of a man in two superimposed positions, inscribed in a circle and a square. The drawing measures 34.3×24.5 cm and is made in ink and watercolor. The figure of a man shows the mathematical proportions of the human body in accordance with data from the treatises of the Roman architect Vitruvius. The Vitruvian man is a kind of symbol of the natural ideality of man, his internal symmetry and mathematical proportionality. The drawing is thus both a work of art and a scientific work.

Da Vinci's engineering developments and ideas, which have come down to us in his notes, cannot but surprise. It’s amazing how a person at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries could be so far ahead of his time! The drawings preserved designs for a rotating chain for a bicycle, machines for mass production, various aircraft, machine tools and much more. He developed projects for urban improvement, designed locks, dams, canals, mills, and even calculated the cost of these projects, but, unfortunately, no one took on them. Da Vinci’s irrepressible and intense inventive and engineering activity seemed to be a protest against those circles of intellectuals where he did not get into. He proved to himself that he was still part of this circle, and was doing it head and shoulders above others.

After the invasion of French troops, Leonardo returns to Florence. Here he receives an assignment from the Senoria to participate in the painting of the Great Council Hall of the Palace of the Senoria, where Michelangelo was already working at that time. So the two giants of the era began to work together, although without any particular affection for each other. As Vasari notes, from time to time the then young Raphael came to see the work of the masters. A truly incredible situation! Around the same time, Leonardo painted his main masterpiece - the world-famous “La Gioconda” or “Mona Lisa”. The history of this painting attracts art historians from all countries, and the mysterious Mrs. Lisa del Giocondo does not leave viewers indifferent. The most famous work of painting in the world had an incredible impact on global artistic culture, and Leonardo da Vinci himself did not part with his masterpiece, even when he left for France. He had three such favorite paintings: “Mona Lisa”, “John the Baptist” and “St. Anne with the Madonna and Child Christ”.

Leonardo again spent some time in Milan in the service of the French king Louis XII, and then in Rome with Pope Leo X. In 1516, da Vinci was invited to the court by the new king of France, Francis I. He received the title of the first royal artist, engineer and architect, but in essence it was just a “decoration” of the court - it was prestigious for the king to have “that same Leonardo”, who had already become a legend. Unfortunately, the artist’s health was deteriorating, his right arm was paralyzed, it was increasingly difficult for him to move without assistance, so he could carry out his official duties. Then Francis I purchased the Mona Lisa from Leonardo, thereby ensuring its safety for centuries.

Shortly before his death, the artist moved to the small town of Amboise, on the Loire River. At the age of 67, Leonardo da Vinci was already bedridden. In full consciousness, he writes a will: all his manuscripts and books went to one of his students, Francesco Melzi. On May 2, 1519, Leonardo da Vinci quietly passed away.

The phenomenon of a brilliant artist, scientist, and writer still excites the minds of researchers. The personality of Leonardo da Vinci does not fit into any human size, the scope of his activities is enormous, and the influence he had on the entire world culture is incredibly amazing. Leonardo is truly inexhaustible; modernity is considering more and more new aspects of his life and work, trying to comprehend the secrets of the “universal man”. An asteroid is named after him, many authors use the prototype of Leonardo da Vinci in their works, films and TV series are being made in one way or another related to the legacy of the great da Vinci, and much more. He became more than just a historically significant figure - he became an image, a titan and an unattainable ideal.

Not impressed? Well, the bearing may not be the coolest thing an inventor can do, but a lot of modern technology works with the help of bearings. Ball bearings allow drive shafts to rotate, push goods in a store or factory, and are the basis of almost any moving mechanism. Smooth balls placed between two moving surfaces virtually eliminate friction. For the first time, the idea, as many believe, was born during the Roman Empire, but historians believe that it was in da Vinci’s notebooks that the first sketches of the bearing appeared. Many of the devices invented by the genius would not work without bearings. But as with many of the inventor's concepts, the bearing had to be reinvented by someone else.

The distance from which a body falls depends on two factors: the force of gravity, which pulls it down, and the resistance of the atmosphere in which it falls. In the absence of an atmosphere, a falling body will simply accelerate to tremendous speed until it hits the surface, but the air slows down the fall until the body reaches the so-called terminal velocity. Different objects have different maximum speeds. For a person falling in the Earth's atmosphere - a parachutist, for example - this speed is approximately 193.1 km/h. Slowly, right? Let it be so, but this is enough for a person falling from an airplane to turn into a cake after hitting the surface of the earth. Only a parachute can save him.

Da Vinci, fascinated by the idea of a flying man, conceived his parachute as a means of drifting through the air. Its pyramidal structure was draped with fabric. As da Vinci wrote in his notes, such a device would allow a person to “fall from any height without any injury or damage.” The twenty-first century naturalists who implemented da Vinci's idea recognized that it worked exactly as he predicted.

Da Vinci was inspired by birds. He watched them, drew them and thought about creating his own flying machines. One of the results of this hobby was the ornithopter, a device invented by da Vinci that could theoretically lift a person into the air like a bird. While a da Vinci parachute would allow a man to jump off a cliff and stay alive, an ornithopter would allow him to float in the air above the ground.

On paper, an ornithopter looks more like a bird (or bat) than modern aircraft. Its wings will start working after the pilot turns the handle. This invention demonstrates da Vinci's deep understanding of aerodynamics. Modern attempts to reproduce the ornithopter have shown that it could indeed fly - if it were lifted into the air. Building an aircraft that uses weak human muscles would be more difficult.

The parachute and ornithopter were only two of the flying machines described by da Vinci in his notebooks. Others included a glider and a helicopter-like aircraft, which we may talk about later.

The da Vinci machine gun or "33-barrel organ" was not a machine gun in the modern sense. He could not quickly fire bullets from one barrel. But it could fire volleys at short intervals, and if built, it would effectively mow down the advancing infantry.

The mechanism of this machine gun is simple. Da Vinci proposed assembling 11 muskets on a rectangular board, and then folding three such boards into a triangle. By placing a shaft in the middle, the whole thing could be rotated so that one set of 11 guns would fire while the other two cooled down and reloaded. After this, the entire mechanism turned over and fired another salvo.

And although da Vinci constantly noted in his notebooks that he hated war and cursed killing machines, he needed money, and he could easily convince wealthy patrons that such machines would help them defeat their enemies. Perhaps it was for the best that none of the killing machines conceived by da Vinci were built.

While living in Venice in the late 15th century, da Vinci developed the idea to repel invading ships. It was enough to send men to the bottom of the harbor in diving suits, and there they would simply open the bottoms of ships like tin cans. You may be underwhelmed by this idea because its implementation currently seems quite simple. But in Da Vinci's time this was unheard of. Da Vinci's divers could breathe using an underwater bell filled with air and wore masks with glass holes through which they could see underwater. In another version of the concept, divers could breathe using wine bottles filled with air. In both cases, the men would carry bottles with them to urinate in, so they could stay underwater for a very long time. Da Vinci's plan was not only feasible - it was practical!

These diving suits were actually created, but the invaders they were intended to be used against were successfully defeated by the Venetian fleet before underwater sabotage was needed.

Armored tank

While working for the Duke of Milan, Lodovico Sforza, da Vinci proposed what would become his crowning achievement in the field of military vehicles: the armored tank. Assisted by eight strong men, the armored tank looked like a turtle, bristling with 36 guns on all sides. It was equipped with a system of gears that formed a sequence. Eight people were protected from battle by the outer shell, so they could deliver such a “hedgehog” on foot right into the thick of the battle without being wounded. A weapon firing in all directions from an armored tank could be disastrous for an enemy squad.

The diagram of the armored tank in Da Vinci's notes contains a funny flaw: the wheels for forward movement turned in the opposite direction from the rear wheels. Built this way, the tank would not be able to move. Da Vinci was too smart to make such an unfortunate mistake, so historians have given several reasons why the inventor made such a mistake deliberately. Perhaps he really didn't want this car to be built. Another possibility is that he was afraid that the scheme would fall into the clutches of enemies, so he made a mistake to make sure that no one else could build the tank except him.

Self-propelled trolley

Working model.

Da Vinci's self-propelled cart is being promoted as the first automobile in history. Moreover, since it did not have a driver, it can also be considered the first robotic vehicle in history.

Da Vinci's drawings did not fully reveal the internal mechanism, so modern engineers had to guess what made the cart move forward. The best guess was a spring mechanism like the one used in watches. The springs were hidden in drum-shaped housings and could be wound by hand. And while the spring unwinds, the cart moves forward like a wind-up toy. The steering wheel could be programmed using a series of blocks in the gear chain, although the fact that the cart could only turn to the right would have significantly limited its usefulness.

Leonardo apparently considered his cart to be something of a toy, but we can be sure that if it had been built, more useful improvements would soon have followed.

Cities of the future

Leonardo da Vinci Bridge.

When Leonardo lived in Milan around 1400, the Black Plague was raging across Europe. Cities suffered far more than the countryside, and da Vinci theorized that there was something special about cities that made them vulnerable to the disease. This idea is surprisingly relatable, considering that germ theory was only developed in the early 20th century. Da Vinci set out to develop his own plan: a city, originally designed and created from scratch, that would be sanitary and habitable.

The result was a triumph of urban planning that was never built. Da Vinci's “ideal city” was divided into several levels, each of which had minimal unsanitary conditions, and a network of canals facilitated the rapid removal of waste. Water was to be supplied to the buildings through a hydraulic system, which served as the prototype of the modern one. The resources needed to create such a city were beyond the means at Da Vinci's disposal, and he was unable to find a philanthropist willing to shell out his money to build such a city.

Air propeller

Da Vinci's propeller is probably the coolest project that was found in his notebooks. It would operate on the principle of a modern helicopter. The flying machine looked like a huge pinwheel. The helicopter's "blades" were made of flax. If spun fast enough, they could create thrust, the aerodynamic phenomenon that allows airplanes and helicopters to fly. The air would create pressure under each of the blades, thereby lifting the flying car into the sky.

At least that was the idea. Could such a propeller fly? Hardly. But it would be cool.

Robot Knight

Leonardo da Vinci carefully studied human anatomy.

If the da Vinci self-propelled cart was the first working design for robotic transport, the robot knight could be the first humanoid robot, C-3PO of the 15th century. Da Vinci carefully studied the anatomy of the human body and spent hours dissecting corpses to find out how it worked. He realized that muscles move bones. After this, he decided that the same principle could form the basis of a machine. Unlike most of da Vinci's inventions, Leonardo appears to have actually built a robot knight, but it was used primarily as entertainment at the parties of the genius's generous patron, Lodovico Sforza. Of course, that robot was much different from .

Da Vinci's robot has not survived, and no one knows exactly what he was capable of. But apparently, he walked, sat and even worked with his jaws. It used a system of pulleys and gears. In 2002, robotics expert Mark Rosheim took da Vinci's workbooks to build a working model of the 15th century robot. As a result, Rosheim borrowed some ideas to create planetary reconnaissance robots, which.

As you can see, after half a century of space exploration, Leonardo da Vinci's projects finally went into outer space.