In celebration of the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death, fans of the famed inventor and artist can now get a firsthand look at the inventions and theories of the legend—all thanks to another well-known genius. Among Microsoft founder Bill Gates's most prized acquisitions is a notebook written by da Vinci, which Gates purchased for more than $30 million in 1994. (In fact, you might recognize some of its sketches from Windows wallpapers and screen savers.) Now visitors to London’s British Library can admire da Vinci’s esoteric writings and drawings. The notebook, in Italian, is written in da Vinci’s characteristic mirror style, left-handed and meant to be read from right to left, just one of his many quirks.
Below, AD looks at five of the most interesting ideas da Vinci proposed in his notebook:
Breathing UnderwaterDa Vinci created an underwater breathing apparatus consisting of two tubes, one for inhaling and one for exhaling. The tubes are built to be sturdy and flexible in rough waters. Additionally, in order to protect the upper parts of the tubes from choppy seas, he also included a flotation device.
Drawings for the Design of a Mechanical OrganDa Vinci’s notebooks show his attempt to understand sound from a mechanical perspective. Da Vinci sketches a design of a mechanical organ playing a canon in four parts, consisting of an outer wheel with pipes to serve as the voices, with a wheel in the middle with four cogs to fill the role of the singers.
Studies of Reflections From Concave MirrorsIn addition to an interest in the patterns of light reflecting off the water, Da Vinci was also interested in the use of concave mirrors as a heating source. Now, more than 500 years later, concave mirrors like the ones Da Vinci made are used around the world in solar cookers.
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The Flow of the Arno RiverA large section of the notebook is dedicated to the Arno River, which flows through Florence, Italy. In these writings and drawings, Da Vinci examines the flow of the river and hypothesizes about the effects that different obstacles and erosion will have on the river’s long-term existence.
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Perpetual-Motion MachinesDa Vinci imagined four different perpetual-motion machines, each more elegant in design and execution than the last, ranging from a simple overbalanced wheel with four tracks and four ball bearings to a more advanced version with eight ball bearings. Da Vinci also conceded that these elaborate machines will not work. “For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction,” he wrote next to one of the machines, predating Newton’s discovery by more than 200 years.
