Leonardo da Vinci's flying machine. The best inventions of Leonardo da Vinci, ahead of their time. Gate for gateway

“Look at the wings that, hitting the air, support a heavy eagle in the thinnest airy heights, near the element of fire, and look at the air moving over the sea, which, hitting the inflated sails, makes the loaded heavy ship run; on these sufficiently weighty and reliable foundations, you will be able to comprehend how a person, overcoming the resistance of the surrounding air with his artificial large wings, is able to rise up in it.

--C.A. 381 v.a., from the writings of Leonardo da Vinci, on flying.

Leonardo da Vinci was born in the middle of the 15th century. He was a prime example of the "universal man." During his lifetime, he excelled in painting, sculpture, music, mathematics, anatomy, natural science, engineering, and architecture. He was the author of many inventions and projects.

Leonardo da Vinci was convinced that "a person who overcomes air resistance with the help of large artificial wings can take to the air." Confident that he was right, Leonardo came up with an apparatus that would allow a person to soar in the air like a bird, flapping large mechanical wings driven only by muscle power.

To design ornithopter wings, Leonardo studied the anatomy of a bird's wing in detail. Watching the flight of a bird, the scientist noticed that it always flaps its wings in different ways: hovering in the air, flying from place to place or landing. Careful study of the mechanism of bird flight prompted Leonardo da Vinci to the correct idea that the main thrust is created by the end parts of the wing.

Leonardo da Vinci, to the smallest detail, worked out several projects (1485-1497) of various types of ornithopters: in the recumbent position of the pilot, ornithopter-boat, with a vertical position of the pilot, etc. When developing these aircraft, the ancient scientist put forward a number of remarkable constructive ideas that are now used in modern aircraft construction: a fuselage in the form of a boat, a rotary tail, retractable landing gear.

Wanting to increase the power of flapping wings, Leonardo da Vinci believed that along with the strength of the hands, it is necessary to use the strength of the human legs. In his development there was also an ornithopter project, which used a stretched bow as an energy source.

Interestingly, the idea of creating ornithopter Leonard da Vinci was thrown by an ordinary ... dragonfly.

Small assembly instructions:

(I did the translation from Czech, in which I am not strong. There may be inaccuracies, so be guided along the way)

The ornithopter model is easy to assemble, but requires care and concentration.

All parts of the model must be carefully cut. Apart from scissors And glue, to form already glued parts, you may need: tweezers, dull knife, pencil, tape.

Parts marked in red, strengthen (glue) for strength with cardboard.

The places where you need to glue the spacers to the wings are marked with black dots.

The numbers that are indicated in circles will serve you as a sequence in your work, i.e. the wing parts with numbers 1 and 2 are assembled first, then parts 3 and 4 follow, and so on. After drying, some details, in particular the wing, need to be rounded a little (for example, on the edge of the table).

In the course of joining parts, you can eliminate color imperfections with watercolors by painting the joints in the appropriate tone.

The finished ornithopter model can be hung on a thread or placed on a table with a stand - decide for yourself.

If you decide to hang it, pierce two holes on the wings with a sharp needle, place the third mount in the rear (tail) part of the ornithopter. These places are marked with blue lines, see picture.

In order for the aircraft to stand on the table, it is necessary to assemble the stand in the form of a cylinder - parts 28-30. Along the contour of the lower part 29, lay and strengthen with adhesive tape a piece of wire (for example, a paper clip). In order for the model to stand confidently, the stand must be weighted; for this, put a weight on the bottom of the stand - a large nut.

At the end of the work, do not forget to attach the label “Ornitoptéra Leonardo da Vinci” parts 31-32.

Leonardo da Vinci impresses with the variety of his scientific interests. His research in the field of aircraft design is unique. He studied the flight and planning of birds, the structure of their wings, and created aircraft with flapping wings, a parachute, a model of a spiral propeller and other devices unique for their time. In the manuscripts of Leonardo there are dozens of images of various flying structures that have a number of interesting engineering solutions.

Wing structure

Leonardo began creating "planes" by studying the behavior of dragonflies in the air, and then came up with a flapping wing as a means of studying repulsion from the air. It was necessary to calculate the human strength required to lift the flyweight into the air, the total weight of which was supposed to be about 90 kg.

After carefully studying the flight of birds, Leonardo da Vinci designed his first flying machine, which had flapping wings like a bat. With its help, pushing off the air with the help of wings and using the strength of the muscles of the arms and legs, a person had to fly.

Wings were supposed not only to lift a person into the air, but also, thanks to such devices as ailerons and hinges, to keep him in the air. Then Leonardo was convinced that he could carry out human flight with the help of flapping wings. He was going to replace his insufficiently strong muscles with the energy of such a mechanism as a cocked bow, which, as he believed, would be quite enough for human flight. However, even when using this winding mechanism, there were problems with the rapid unwinding of the spring.

Years passed, and when Lenardo, after a break, again took up the study of flight, he was already thinking about soaring flight with the help of the wind, knowing that in this case less effort was required to keep and move the aircraft in the air.

Ornithopter with prone pilot

On such an apparatus, a person must be in a lying position during the flight and control the mechanisms of flapping wings with the movements of the arms and legs. The legs are threaded into the stirrups so that one leg raises the wing, the other lowers it, and then vice versa. The wings are bent and rotated using ropes and levers.

Ornithopter

This aircraft has a hull shaped like a boat. Huge wings, similar to bat wings, are set in motion with the help of mechanisms. Like on boats, a steering wheel is provided for control. The wide tail plane was intended most likely for altitude control.

vertical aircraft

The vertically flying machine is considered the forerunner of the helicopter.

In this apparatus, the inventor provided for two pairs of wings flapping in turn. During the flight, a person had to stand inside a huge bowl with a diameter of 12 m. The wings of the apparatus had to have a width of 24 m, and their span should be about 5 m. To control the mechanisms of the apparatus, the pilot's hands, legs and even the head had to be involved. The flapping of the wings had to take place crosswise, up and down, like the wings of a bird. If this were built, the machine would be so heavy that it would be impossible to fly. Leonardo recognized this problem and tried to reduce weight using lighter materials.

Vertical takeoff aircraft

Leonardo wanted to install a system of retractable ladders on this apparatus, an analogue of a modern retractable landing gear. Upon landing, concave wedges attached to the base of the stairs would have served as shock absorbers.

Air propeller

In the sketches, Leonardo also depicts a completely different aircraft - a "propeller" capable of taking off into the air. An apparatus with such a propeller should fly by screwing into the air! The radius of the screw is 4.8 m. It had a metal edging and a starched linen coating. The screw had to be driven by people who walked around the axis and pushed the levers. There was another way to start the propeller - it was necessary to quickly unwind the cable under the axle.

Reconstruction:

The model is made on the basis of a square wooden frame, from the corners of which there are also wooden rails fastened above the center of the frame. The material attached to the frame forms an exhaust hood. Ropes are attached to the corners of the frame, on which a person weighs below. However, in practice, the descent on such a parachute cannot be safe, because. the material will simply be torn apart by the pressure of air. As Leonardo da Vinci believed, "if a person has an awning made of dense fabric, each side of which is 12 arm lengths, and the height is 12, then he can jump without breaking from any significant height." He did not manage to test this device himself.

Reconstruction:

However, the flying devices of the great inventor Leonardo da Vinci never took off. Everything remained only on paper.

After 500 years of oblivion

The aircraft invented by Leonardo da Vinci has finally risen into the sky. Recently, over the English county of Surrey, a prototype of a modern hang glider, designed exactly according to the drawings of a scientist, was successfully tested. The flying machine was made entirely from materials available during Leonardo's lifetime. The medieval hang glider resembled the skeleton of a bird from above. It was made from Italian poplar, cane, flax, animal sinew, and flax treated with a glaze derived from beetle secretions. On test flights from the hills, it was possible to raise the "delta plan" to a maximum height of 10 m and stay in the air for 17 seconds. It cannot be used for aerobatics, but it lifts off the ground and flies beautifully.

Leonardo da Vinci rightfully occupies one of the first places among the inventors of all ages and peoples. He was able to predict and predetermine the course of many inventions and thought in such a way that it 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 the principles and essence of his mechanisms as much as possible.

AIRCRAFTS

Leonardo da Vinci was practically obsessed with dreams of aircraft and the possibility of flight, because no machine is able to cause that quivering admiration and surprise, like a machine that can soar in the air like a bird.

In his notes, one could come across such an idea: “Watch how a fish swims, and you will learn the secret of flight.” Leonardo managed to make an intellectual breakthrough. He realized that water behaves like air, so he gained applied knowledge of how to create lift and showed an extraordinary understanding of the subject, which amazes specialists to this day.

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

Around the sketch there is also a description of the da Vinci propeller (helicon). The coating of the screw was supposed to be iron as thick as a thread. The height should be approximately 5 meters, and the radius of the screw should be about 2 meters. The apparatus was supposed to be set in motion with the help of the muscular strength of four people.

In the video below, four enthusiastic engineers, a historian and a light aircraft 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 such a design had a number of serious drawbacks, the main of which was the lack of thrust necessary for flight, so the enthusiasts made significant modifications, but find out from the video whether they succeeded or not.

Leonardo da Vinci plane

The inventor did not sit long with the idea of a helicopter and decided to go further, trying to create a prototype aircraft. Birds are the source of knowledge here.

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

Although his invention cannot be fully called an airplane, the name of a flywheel or ornithopter suits him best, that is, an air apparatus lifted into the air due to the reaction of air with its planes (wings), which, by means of muscular effort, transmit a flapping movement, like in birds

Leonardo carefully began to make calculations and he began with ducks. He measured the length of a duck's wing, after which it turned out that the length of the wing is 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 (which reached about 136 kilograms), it would be necessary to create bird-like wings 12 meters long.

An interesting fact about the hang glider. In Assassin's Creed 2, the protagonist uses da Vinci's flying machine (hang glider) to fly from one side of the city of Venice to the other.

And if you're a fan of the Bruce Willis movies, you might remember that the movie The Hudson Hawk mentions a hang glider and a da Vinci parachute. And on a da Vinci hang glider, the main character even flew.

Parachute Leonardo da Vinci

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 you to smoothly descend 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 dense fabric. The base of the pyramid was about 7 meters 20 cm long.

Interestingly, it is in Russia that the inventor Kotelnikov will bring to mind the da Vinci parachute, making the first ever backpack parachute that can be mounted on the back of the pilot and used during ejection.

In 2000, Andrian Nicholas, a skydiver from England, decided to test Leonardo's invention in the form in which he invented it, replacing only the material in it, realizing that linen 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 was already able to achieve success. He abandoned the rigid design 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

In the field of architecture and construction, Leonardo also achieved impressive knowledge. 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 explored the force that is needed to lift bodies of various masses. In order to lift a heavy object down 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 the horizontal rope always remains constant, and the movement of the column occurs 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 minting, only it all happens on a special gear wheel. Three hammers with a special wedge included between the pins hit the wheel, rotating it and the drum where the load is attached.

Mobile crane and screw hoist

The high 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 the guide rope, which was stretched over the crane.

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

Sketch of a crane on a trolley and a screw hoist

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 his work, it was necessary to involve two workers. The first was on the lower platform and lifted heavy objects with the help of a drum, and the second worker was on the upper platform and rotated the lift around its axis with the help of a steering wheel. Also, the crane had wheels that allowed it to be moved. Such cranes were used in the time of Leonardo for the installation of pillars and columns, the construction of high walls, church domes, roofs of houses and more. Since the cars were wooden, they were usually burned after use.

Excavators by Leonardo da Vinci

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 the prototypes of excavators were used in ancient Egypt in the construction of canals and the deepening of river beds, but the truly conceptual model of the excavator was, of course, invented by the great Leonardo da Vinci.

The Renaissance excavators, of course, were not particularly automatic and needed 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 a rough idea of how huge these machines were at that time. The excavator used the principle of monorail movement, that is, it moved along one rail, while blocking the entire width of the channel, and the booms of its cranes could turn 180 °.

Fortress tower and double spiral staircase

In the picture you can see a sketch of a part of the fortress. To the left of the fortress tower, a sketch of a spiral staircase was made, which is an important component of the tower. The design of the stairs is similar to the well-known screw of Archimedes. If you take a closer look at the stairs, 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 stairs and not know about each other. Thus, you can go down on one side and go up on the other. without interfering with each other. This is an extremely useful property during the military fuss. Each part, respectively, has its own input and output. There are no steps added in the sketch, but the actual stairs have them.

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

Labyrinth building with many stairs, entrances and exits

Leonardo also thought about more sophisticated architectural concepts from stairs. In this case, this is a real maze! This structure has 4 entrances and 4 staircases that spiral one above the other, wrapping around the central column in the form of a square pillar. the buildings.

Sliding (swivel) bridge

Sketch of Leonardo da Vinci's swing bridge

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, working on the principle of breeding, is the ability to turn like a door. This effect is achieved through a system of capstans, hinges, winches and counterweights, where one end of the bridge is fixed on a special rotating mechanism, and the other end is slightly raised to turn.

Self-supporting ("mobile") bridge

This bridge is the answer to the question: "how can you quickly build a full-fledged crossing from improvised means?" And 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 need nails or ropes. The distribution of the load in the bridge structure occurs due to the mutual expansion and pressure of the elements on each other. You can assemble such a bridge anywhere where trees grow, and they grow almost everywhere.

The purpose of the bridge was military and was necessary for the mobile and covert movement of troops. Leonardo assumed 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 collapsible bridge that soldiers could assemble using ropes and winches. Such a bridge was quickly assembled and dismantled after itself during the offensives and retreats of the troops.

As in many other projects by Leonardo da Vinci, the principles of tension, statics and resistance of materials are used here. The device of this bridge is similar to the device of suspension bridges, where, in the same way, the main bearing elements are made of winches and ropes and do not need 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 bridge design was optimal, and the principles used in the suspension bridge are applied in many modern bridges.

Bridge for the Turkish Sultan

In 1502-1503, Sultan Bayezid II began looking for projects to build a bridge across the Golden Horn Bay. Leonardo proposed to the Sultan an interesting project for a bridge, which was to build a bridge 240 meters long and 24 meters wide, which at the 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 the concept of the bridge became interesting in Norway. In 2001, a small copy of the Da Vinci Bridge was built near Oslo in the small town of As. Architects and builders tried not to deviate from the drawings of the master, 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 overcrowding, 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 portray 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, while each district and house in it were provided with 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 State Council of London reported that the data proportions are ideal and all the streets in London should be brought in accordance with them). At the same time, the city was multi-tiered. The tiers were connected by means of stairs and passages. The uppermost tier was occupied by influential and wealthy representatives of society, while the lower tier of the city remained for merchants and the provision of various kinds of services.

The city could become the greatest achievement of the architectural thought of its time and could realize many of the technical achievements of the great inventor. one should not really think that the city was a continuous mechanism, first of all, Leonardo focused on convenience, practicality and hygiene. Squares and streets were conceived as extremely spacious, which did not correspond to the then medieval ideas.

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

Ludovico Sforza considered this project adventurous and refused to implement it. At 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 of water devices, water manipulation devices, various plumbing and fountains, and irrigation machines. Leonardo loved water so much that he did everything that somehow came into contact with water.

Improved Archimedean screw

The ancient Greeks, in the person of Archimedes, invented a device long ago that allows you to raise water due to mechanics, and not manual labor. He invented such a mechanism around 287-222 BC. Leonardo da Vinci perfected the mechanism of Archimedes. He carefully considered the various relationships between the angle of inclination of the axis and the required number of spirals in order to select the optimal parameters. Thanks to improvements, the propeller mechanism began to deliver a larger volume of water with less loss.

The sketch shows the screw on the left. It is a tightly wrapped tube. Water rises through the tube and gets from a special bath upstairs. By turning the handle, the water will flow continuously.

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

Water wheel

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

This wheel was used to clear channels and deepen the bottom. Located on a raft and having four blades, the water wheel was set in motion by hand and collected silt. The silt was laid on a raft, which was fixed between two boats. The wheel also moved along the vertical axis, which made it possible to adjust the depth of scooping of the wheel.

Water wheel with buckets

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

Gate for gateway

The inventor has improved the sluice gate system. Now it was possible to control the amount of water in such a way as to equalize the pressure on both sides of the sluice gates, which made it easier to work with them. To do this, in the large gates, Leonardo made a small gate with a deadbolt.

Leonardo also invented a canal with a system of locks, allowing 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 the water so much that he came up with instructions for diving, designed and described a diving suit.

According to Leonardo's logic, divers should have participated in anchoring the vessel. Divers in such a suit could breathe with the help of air, which they found in an underwater bell. The suits also had glass masks that allowed them to see underwater. Also, the suit had an improved breathing tube, which was used by divers in more ancient times. The hose is made of reed, and the joints are fastened with waterproof material. The hose itself has a spring insert that 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 experimented and made a diving suit according to Leonardo's drawings, made of pigskin and with bamboo tubes, as well as an air dome. Experience has shown that the design is 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 to stay afloat and increased the distance a person could swim in the sea.

Five long sticks of wood continued the structure of the human skeleton along the phalanges of the fingers and were interconnected by membranes, like in waterfowl. Modern fins are based on exactly the same principle.

The invention of water skiing

The inventor tried to solve the problem of overcoming a long shallow water by soldiers and came to the conclusion that it was possible to use the skin, pre-filled with air (leather bags), attaching this skin to the legs of people.

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

Leonardo's idea was unsuccessful, but a similar principle formed the basis of water skiing.

Lifebuoy

If you translate the inscription, which is located at the bottom of the picture, you can read "How to save a life in the event of a storm or shipwreck." This simple invention is nothing more than a lifeline 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, the seas and rivers remained convenient and optimal transport routes. Milan or Florence were vitally dependent on maritime navigation and the availability of fast and safe water transportation.

Leonardo created a sketch of a boat with a paddle wheel. The four blades are similar in shape to the fins of waterfowl. The man twisted the pedals with both feet, thereby rotating the wheel. The principle of reciprocating movements made the wheel spin counterclockwise, so the boat began to move forward.

Boat model Leonardo

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

Aircraft of Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo da Vinci impresses with the variety of his scientific interests. His research in the field of aircraft design is unique. He studied the flight and planning of birds, the structure of their wings, and created aircraft with flapping wings, a parachute, a model of a spiral propeller and other devices unique for their time. In the manuscripts of Leonardo there are dozens of images of various flying structures that have a number of interesting engineering solutions. Wing structure. Leonardo began creating "planes" by studying the behavior of dragonflies in the air, and then came up with a flapping wing as a means of studying repulsion from the air. It was necessary to calculate the human strength required to lift the flyweight into the air, the total weight of which was supposed to be about 90 kg. After carefully studying the flight of birds, Leonardo da Vinci designed his first flying machine, which had flapping wings like a bat. With its help, pushing off the air with the help of wings and using the strength of the muscles of the arms and legs, a person had to fly. Wings were supposed not only to lift a person into the air, but also, thanks to such devices as ailerons and hinges, to keep him in the air. Then Leonardo was convinced that he could carry out human flight with the help of flapping wings. He was going to replace his insufficiently strong muscles with the energy of such a mechanism as a cocked bow, which, as he believed, would be quite enough for human flight. However, even when using this winding mechanism, there were problems with the rapid unwinding of the spring. Years passed, and when Lenardo, after a break, again took up the study of flight, he was already thinking about soaring flight with the help of the wind, knowing that in this case less effort was required to keep and move the aircraft in the air. Ornithopter with recumbent pilot. On such an apparatus, a person must be in a lying position during the flight and control the mechanisms of flapping wings with the movements of the arms and legs. The legs are threaded into the stirrups so that one leg raises the wing, the other lowers it, and then vice versa. The wings are bent and rotated using ropes and levers. This aircraft has a hull shaped like a boat. Huge bat-like wings are powered by mechanisms. As with boats, a steering wheel is provided for steering. The wide tail plane was intended most likely for altitude control. The forerunner of the helicopter. The vertically flying machine is considered the forerunner of the helicopter. In this apparatus, the inventor provided for two pairs of wings flapping in turn. During the flight, a person had to stand inside a huge bowl with a diameter of 12 m. The wings of the apparatus had to have a width of 24 m, and their span was about 5 m. To control the mechanisms of the apparatus, the pilot's hands, legs and even the head had to be involved. The flapping of the wings had to take place crosswise, up and down, like the wings of a bird. If this were built, the machine would be so heavy that it would be impossible to fly. Leonardo recognized this problem and tried to reduce weight by using lighter materials. Aircraft with vertical takeoff. Leonardo wanted to install a system of retractable ladders on this apparatus, an analogue of a modern retractable landing gear. Upon landing, concave wedges attached to the base of the stairs would have served as shock absorbers. Air propeller. In the sketches, Leonardo also depicts a completely different aircraft - a "propeller" capable of taking off into the air. An apparatus with such a propeller should fly by screwing into the air! The radius of the screw is 4.8 m. It had a metal edging and a starched linen coating. The screw had to be driven by people who walked around the axis and pushed the levers. There was another way to start the propeller - it was necessary to quickly unwind the cable under the axle. Parachute. The model was made on the basis of a square wooden frame, from the corners of which there are also wooden rails, fastened above the center of the frame. The material attached to the frame forms an exhaust hood. Ropes are attached to the corners of the frame, on which a person weighs below. However, in practice, the descent on such a parachute cannot be safe, because. the material will simply be torn apart by the pressure of air. As Leonardo da Vinci believed, "if a person has an awning made of dense fabric, each side of which is 12 arm lengths, and the height is 12, then he can jump without breaking from any significant height." He did not manage to test this device himself. However, the flying devices of the great inventor Leonardo da Vinci never took off. Everything remained only on paper. After 500 years of oblivion. The aircraft invented by Leonardo da Vinci has finally risen into the sky. Recently, over the English county of Surrey, a prototype of a modern hang glider, designed exactly according to the drawings of a scientist, was successfully tested. The flying machine was made entirely from materials available during Leonardo's lifetime. The medieval hang glider resembled the skeleton of a bird from above. It was made from Italian poplar, cane, animal sinew, and linen treated with a glaze derived from beetle secretions. On test flights from the hills, it was possible to raise the "delta plan" to a maximum height of 10m and stay in the air for 17 seconds. It cannot be used for aerobatics, but it lifts off the ground and flies beautifully.

Painter, sculptor, architect, anatomist, naturalist, inventor, engineer, writer, thinker, musician, poet.

If you list only these areas of application of talent, without naming the person to whom they relate, anyone will say: Leonardo da Vinci. We will consider only one of the facets of the personality of the "great Leonardo" and talk about his technical inventions.

Da Vinci was a famous figure of his time, but the real glory came many centuries after his death. Only at the end of the 19th century were the theoretical notes of the scientist published for the first time. It was they who contained descriptions of strange and mysterious devices for their time. In the Renaissance, da Vinci could hardly count on the speedy implementation of all his inventions. The main obstacle to their implementation was the insufficient technical level. But in the 20th century, almost all the devices described in his writings became a reality. This suggests that the "Italian Faust" was not only a talented inventor, but also a person who was able to anticipate technological progress. Of course, Leonardo's deep knowledge contributed to this.

The scientist systematized his developments, creating the so-called "codes" - books containing records about certain aspects of science and technology. There is, for example, the Leicester Code, in which you can find descriptions of various natural phenomena, as well as mathematical calculations.

It is noteworthy that da Vinci's notes are made in the so-called "mirror" font. All letters are written from right to left and deployed vertically. You can only read them with a mirror. Until now, disputes have not subsided about why the scientist needed to keep records in this way. Rumor has it that this is how he intended to classify his works.

No technical invention causes such awe and admiration as a flying machine. That is why special attention has been riveted to da Vinci's aircraft at all times. The inventor always dreamed of the idea of aeronautics. Birds became a source of inspiration for the scientist. Leonardo tried to create a wing for an aircraft in the image and likeness of feathered wings. One of the devices he developed was set in motion with the help of movable wings, which rose and fell due to the rotation of the pedals by the pilot. The pilot himself was located horizontally (lying).

Another version of the flying machine was supposed to use not only the legs, but also the hands of the aeronaut for movement. Experiments with the "bird's" wing did not have practical success, and soon the inventor switched to the idea of a gliding flight. This is how the hang glider prototype appeared. By the way, in 2002, British testers proved the correctness of the da Vinci hang glider concept. Using an apparatus built according to the drawings of the master, the world champion in hang gliding Judy Liden was able to rise to a height of ten meters and stayed in the air for seventeen seconds.

No less interesting is the aircraft developed by da Vinci with a rotor. In our time, many consider this machine the prototype of a modern helicopter. Although the device is more like a gyroplane rather than a helicopter. Made of thin linen, the propeller had to be driven by four people. The helicopter was one of the first flying machines proposed by da Vinci. Perhaps that is why he had a number of serious shortcomings that would never have allowed him to take off. For example, the strength of four people was clearly not enough to create the thrust necessary for takeoff.

But the parachute was one of the simplest developments of genius. But this does not detract from the significance of the invention. According to Leonardo's idea, the parachute was supposed to have a pyramidal shape, and its design was supposed to be covered with fabric. In our time, testers have proven that the da Vinci parachute concept can be considered correct. In 2008, Swiss Olivier Tepp successfully landed using a pyramid-shaped tent. True, for this the parachute had to be made from modern materials.

Leonardo da Vinci was the illegitimate (illegitimate) son of the Tuscan notary Piero da Vinci. His mother was a simple peasant woman. Subsequently, Father Leonardo married a girl from a noble family. Since this marriage turned out to be childless, he soon took his son to him.

It is believed that da Vinci was a vegetarian. The following words are attributed to him: “If a person strives for freedom, why does he keep birds and animals in cages? .. Man is truly the king of animals, because he cruelly exterminates them. We live by killing others. We are walking graveyards! I gave up meat at an early age.”

Automobile

When you get acquainted with the works of da Vinci, you begin to understand why small Italy has become the birthplace of legendary car brands. Back in the 15th century, an Italian inventor was able to sketch a “self-propelled cart”, which became the prototype of modern cars. The trolley designed by Leonardo did not have a driver and was driven by a spring mechanism.

Although the latter is just an assumption of modern scientists. It is not known for certain how exactly the master intended to move his invention forward. Nor do we know what the first car was supposed to look like. Leonardo paid the main attention not to the appearance of the structure, but to the technical characteristics. The cart was three-wheeled, like a children's bicycle. The rear wheels rotated independently of each other.

In 2004, Italian researchers managed not only to build a car designed by da Vinci, but also to make it move! Scientist Carlo Pedretti managed to unravel the main secret of Leonardo da Vinci's wagon, namely, the principle of movement. The researcher suggested that the car was supposed to be driven not by springs, but by special springs, which were located at the bottom of the structure.

Tank

Bestialissima pazzia (translated from Italian. "Animal madness") - it was with such an unflattering epithet that the "titan of the Renaissance" awarded the war. Da Vinci mentioned in his notes that he hated war and killing machines. Paradoxically, this did not prevent him from developing new military equipment.

Do not forget that Leonardo did not live in peacetime. Italian cities were in complex relationships with each other, and there was also the threat of French intervention. By the end of the 15th century, da Vinci had become a well-known and respected military specialist. He presented his numerous military developments in a letter written to the Duke of Milan Sforza.

One of the scientist's most exciting ideas was... a tank. However, it would be much more correct to call Leonardo's design a distant prototype of armored vehicles of the 20th century. This design had a rounded shape and outwardly resembled a turtle, bristling with tools on all sides. The inventor hoped to solve the problem of movement with the help of horses. True, this idea was quickly abandoned: in a confined space, animals could become uncontrollable.

Instead, the “engine” of such a tank was to be eight people who would turn the levers connected to the wheels, and thus move the combat vehicle forward. Another crew member was supposed to be at the top of the apparatus and indicate the direction of movement. Interestingly, the design of the armored vehicle only allowed it to move forward. As you might guess, at that time the concept of the tank had little chance of being implemented.

A tank will become a truly effective weapon only when it is possible to create a suitable internal combustion engine. But the main merit of da Vinci was that he managed to open the curtain of history and look many centuries ahead.

Leonardo da Vinci was a truly versatile person. The inventor played the lyre perfectly and appeared in the records of the Milan court precisely as a musician. Da Vinci was also interested in cooking. For thirteen years, the organization of court feasts lay on his shoulders. Especially for culinary specialists, he developed several useful devices.

Chariot - scythe

Another very original and at the same time terrible invention of the genius of the Renaissance dates back to 1485. It received the uncomplicated name "chariot-scythe". This chariot was a horse carriage equipped with rotating scythes. The design does not claim to be the invention of the century. This invention was also not destined to come true. On the other hand, the war chariot demonstrates the breadth of da Vinci's thought as a military specialist.

Machine gun

One of the most famous inventions of da Vinci, ahead of its time, is considered to be a machine gun. Although the design of Leonardo is more correct to call a multi-barreled gun. Da Vinci had several designs for multiple rocket launchers. His most famous invention in this area is the so-called "musket in the form of an organ pipe." The design had a rotating platform, on which were placed three rows of muskets (arquebus) with eleven barrels each.

The da Vinci machine gun could fire only three shots without reloading, but they would be enough to defeat a large number of enemy soldiers. The main drawback of the design was that such a machine gun is extremely difficult to reload, especially in combat conditions. Another variant of the multi-barrel gun assumed the arrangement of a large number of muskets like a fan. The gun barrels were directed in different directions, increasing the radius of destruction. Like the previous development, the "fan" gun was supposed to be equipped with wheels to increase mobility.

Cannonballs and "mobile" bridges

Perhaps the most farsighted invention of da Vinci was the keeled cannonballs. Such cores were shaped like artillery shells of the 20th century. This development was many centuries ahead of its time. It demonstrates the scientists' deep understanding of the laws of aerodynamics.

Of great value for its time was an invention called the "revolving bridge". This bridge became the prototype of modern mobile mechanized bridges designed for the rapid crossing of troops from one coast to another. The Da Vinci Bridge was solid and attached to one bank. After the bridge was installed, it was supposed to turn it to the opposite bank using ropes.

The Vitruvian Man is one of the most famous drawings by Leonardo da Vinci. The drawing is notable for its detailed reproduction of the proportions of the human body. It is of scientific and cultural interest at the same time. It is noteworthy that long before the image of the "Vitruvian Man" by da Vinci, a similar drawing was made by the Italian scientist Mariano Taccola. True, the image of Taccola was only an unfinished sketch.

The Sforza dynasty was the ruling Milanese dynasty during the Renaissance. The first Duke of Milan was Francesco Sforza, who ruled until 1466. In 1480, the talented cultural figure Lodovico Sforza became the Duke of Milan. During his reign, the most capable artists and scientists of their time were invited to the court. One of them was Leonardo da Vinci.

"Mona Lisa" ("Gioconda") is perhaps the most mysterious example of painting in the world. Until now, the picture raises many questions. So, it is not known for certain who exactly da Vinci depicted on his canvas. It is believed that the painting depicts the noble Florentine Lisa Gherardini. One of the wildest theories is that the painting is a self-portrait of da Vinci himself.

Diving suit

Yes, yes, his invention is also attributed to da Vinci. The diving suit was made of leather and equipped with glass lenses. The diver could breathe with the help of reed tubes. The scientist proposed the concept of a diving suit in order to repel the threat posed by the Turkish fleet. According to the idea, divers had to dive to the bottom and wait for the arrival of enemy ships.

When enemy ships appeared above the water, the divers had to commit sabotage and put the ships to the bottom. It was not destined to prove the correctness of this concept. Venice was able to resist the Turkish fleet without the help of saboteurs. By the way, the world's first detachment of combat swimmers appeared in Italy, but this happened only in 1941. The very design of the space suit, presented by da Vinci, can be considered innovative.

Submarine, mine, gun details

The records of Leonardo da Vinci have survived to our time, on which you can clearly make out the prototype of a submarine. But there is very little information about her. Most likely, on the surface, the ship could move using sails. Under water, the ship had to move with the help of oar power.

To destroy enemy ships, da Vinci designed a special underwater mine. According to the inventor's plan, divers-saboteurs or a submarine could deliver such a mine to the board of an enemy ship. For the first time this idea was realized only in the second half of the 19th century, during the American Civil War.

Despite the abundance of inventions, only one of them brought da Vinci fame during his lifetime. This is a wheel lock for a pistol. In the 16th century, this development gave rise to a real technological boom. The design was so successful that it was used until the 19th century.

All of the above is not a complete list of da Vinci's inventions. In addition to these developments, among the ideas of the master were: a bearing, a mechanical ladder, a rapid-fire crossbow, a steam weapon, a ship with a double bottom, and much more.

Ideal City

If history had gone the other way, the small Italian town of Vidgevano near Milan could have become a real wonder of the world. It was there that Leonardo da Vinci intended to realize his most ambitious idea - the ideal city. The da Vinci project resembles a high-tech city of the future from the literary works of science fiction. Or a utopia generated by a stormy writer's fantasy.

The main feature of such a city was that it consisted of several tiers, interconnected by stairs and passages. As you might guess, the upper tier was intended for the upper strata of society. The lower one was reserved for trade and services. The most important elements of the transport infrastructure were also located there. The city was to become not only the greatest architectural achievement of that time, but also to embody many technical innovations. However, the project should not be perceived as a manifestation of a soulless technocracy. Da Vinci paid much attention to the comfort of the inhabitants of the city. Practicality and hygiene were at the forefront. The scientist decided to abandon the narrow medieval streets in favor of spacious roads and squares.

One of the key aspects of the concept was the widespread use of water channels. With the help of a complex hydraulic system, water had to flow into every building in the city. Da Vinci believed that in this way it would be possible to eliminate unsanitary conditions and reduce the spread of disease to a minimum.

Having become acquainted with the scientist's concept, the Milanese Duke Lodovico Sforza considered the idea too adventurous. At the end of his life, Leonardo presented the same project to the French King Francis I. The scientist proposed making the city the capital of the monarch, but the project remained on paper.

One of da Vinci's interests was anatomy. It is known that the master dismembered many corpses, trying to understand the mysteries of human anatomy. Most of all, the scientist was interested in the structure of muscles. Leonardo da Vinci wanted to understand the principle of human movement. After himself, he left many anatomical records.

Genius or plagiarist?

As you know, history develops in a spiral. Many inventions were born long before their development was appropriated by other inventors. Perhaps Leonardo da Vinci is no exception. Do not forget that da Vinci had access to the scientific heritage of ancient civilization. In addition, da Vinci lived surrounded by the best minds of his time. He had the opportunity to communicate with outstanding figures of science and culture. The scientist could adopt many ideas from his colleagues.

The artist and engineer Mariano Taccola is a forgotten genius of the Renaissance. He died in 1453 (da Vinci was born in 1452). Unlike da Vinci, Mariano Taccola did not receive recognition during his lifetime and did not gain worldwide fame after it. Meanwhile, many developments of Taccola found their continuation in the works of da Vinci. It is known that Leonardo was familiar with the works of Francesco di Giorgio, which, in turn, were based on the ideas of Taccola. For example, in the manuscripts of di Giorgio, da Vinci had the opportunity to familiarize himself with the concept of the Taccola diving suit.

It would be a mistake to consider da Vinci the inventor of flying machines. In the 11th century, the monk Aylmer of Malmesbury lived in England. With a wide knowledge of mathematics, he built a primitive hang glider and even made a short flight on it. Aylmer is known to have flown over two hundred meters.

It is highly likely that Leonardo also borrowed the concept of the helicopter. But already with the Chinese. In the 15th century, merchants from China brought toys resembling mini-helicopters to Europe. A similar point of view is shared by the British historian Gavin Menzies, who believes that da Vinci adopted his most famous inventions from the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire. Menzies claims that in 1430 a Chinese delegation visited Venice, handing over to the Venetians many of the developments of Chinese scientists.

Be that as it may, Leonardo da Vinci always remains for us one of the greatest inventors of all times and peoples. Many ideas were brought to life precisely thanks to Leonardo. The scientist improved various inventions and, more importantly, was able to give them visibility. Do not forget that Leonardo da Vinci was a talented artist.

The master left many sketches for his developments. And even if the ideas attributed to da Vinci do not belong to him, it cannot be denied that the scientist was able to systematize a huge layer of knowledge, bringing this knowledge to posterity.