. | . |
Scribbles found to be Leonardo da Vinci's earliest notes on laws of friction by Brooks Hays Cambridge, England (UPI) Jul 22, 2016
Scribbled pages in a notebook of Leonardo da Vinci, previously dismissed as nonsense, have been revealed as the polymath's earliest musings on the laws of friction. Leonardo is widely considered the founder of tribology, a branch of mechanical engineering and materials science that deals with the principles of friction. Now, scientists have a better understanding of when Leonardo first began to understand the laws of friction. In the years following these early scribbles, Leonardo would expand on the role of friction in engineering and the development of machines. The significance of the scribbles was discovered by Ian Hutchings, a professor engineering at the University of Cambridge. "The sketches and text show Leonardo understood the fundamentals of friction in 1493," Hutchings said in a news release. Art historians had previously dismissed the scribbles as nonsense, focusing instead on the significance of a sketch of a woman some suggest is Helen of Troy. Beneath the woman figure is a quote: "cosa bella mortal passa e non dura," or "mortal beauty passes and does not last." Next to his thoughts on the principles of friction are a series of sketched diagrams, one depicting a pulley system with a series of blocks supporting a rope tied to a heavy weight. "He knew that the force of friction acting between two sliding surfaces is proportional to the load pressing the surfaces together and that friction is independent of the apparent area of contact between the two surfaces," Hutchings said. Until now, science historians have credited French scientist Guillaume Amontons with first describing the laws of friction -- 200 years after Leonardo first put them on paper. "Leonardo's 20-year study of friction, which incorporated his empirical understanding into models for several mechanical systems, confirms his position as a remarkable and inspirational pioneer of tribology," Hutchings concluded. Hutchings' analysis of Leonardo's early ideas on friction is detailed in a new paper, published this week in the journal Wear. Leonardo's groundbreaking notebook is currently on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Related Links Understanding Time and Space
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |