Leonardo DaVinci: Inside the Mind of a Genius!

Leonardo DaVinci once said, "Things of the mind left untested by the senses are useless." And DaVinci left just about nothing untested. Not only was he one of the greatest artists of all times and, one could argue, also one of the greatest engineers of all times, but he was also and architect, astronomer, mathematician, geologist, botanist, inventor and musician. DaVinci was also a genius.

DaVinci was born in 1452 in the small village of Vinci. His family soon moved to Florence and DaVinci was given the best education that Florence, the intellectual and artistic center of Italy, could offer. He rapidly advanced socially and intellectually. At the age of sixteen, his father began to realize that he had extraordinary artistic talents and sent DaVinci to apprentice with Andrea del Verrocchio, one of the leading painters and sculptors of the time. For the next six years, DaVinci trained and honed artistic skills under Verrocchio. However, it wasn't long before the student surpassed the teacher. He quickly developed his own artistic style, which was unique and contrary to tradition. In 1472, DaVinci was enrolled a master in the Company of Painters, and he began to create his own masterpieces.

Just as he began his career as an independent master, DaVinci soon lost interest in painting. As a result he turned his attention to engineering. He was fascinated by the prospect of human flight. DaVinci once said, "Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will long to return." Soon, he spent much of his time attempting to master this subject thus causing him to create his most famous engineering designs; he began his work on human flight. In 1487, he sketched plans of a craft in which the pilot lay on a frame with his feet in stirrups. By moving the feet and together, the wings would move in a downward stroke. The upstroke was operated by a hand lever.

Somewhere around 1486-1490, DaVinci produced drawings for an ornithopter. It had a complicated flight control system that depended upon a head harness that operated a combination rudder and elevator. His design did not reappear in history until 1799 when another inventor used a similar system. DaVinci eventually stopped his experiments of the flapping-wing aircrafts and started working on more practical fixed-wing designs. For these he depended heavily upon his studies of bird flight and falling leaves.

DaVinci experimented endlessly with ideas that could never be successful because he based his ideas on one major flaw: that humans had enough muscle power and coordination to imitate bird flight. He was also thought that birds flew by beating their wings in a downward and backwards motion. In reality, the wing feathers provide thrust on the downward stroke, while the inner wing gives lift. Additionally, at the time that DaVinci was making these investigations, virtually nothing was known about the principles of aerodynamics and flight.

DaVinci's most well-known flying machine was the helical screw. The helical screw was the same basic design as the helicopter and is considered an ancestor of the modern day helicopter. The helical screw was never tested in DaVinci's time and most likely would not have flown. Until recent times, it was considered to be the first design of that type. However, it has been discovered that the first model helicopter was know of and understood prior to DaVinci's time.

Of all of his flying machines, it is the very last one that closest relates to actual flight. Drawn less than ten years prior to his death, the design is a true glider and showed the beginnings of controlled flight. This would be an inspiration, as well as guide, to future designs for human flight.

During the same time as all of his flight findings, DaVinci made many incredible advances in other areas of science as well. At a time when not much was known about human anatomy, DaVinci created elaborate, detailed drawings of bone and muscle structure, along with organ-system observations and sketches. He also did some work in the area of military engineering. Some of his designs became early prototypes for machine guns and tanks. DaVinci made advances in hydraulics, optics, and mathematics. Some of his hundreds of designs and inventions include: a submarine, a deep sea diving suit, parachutes, drilling machines, labor saving devices including cranes and pulleys, and self-propelled land and water vehicles.

In 1500, after many years in Milan, DaVinci returned to Florence. By this time he was a celebrated artistic and engineering genius. He continued his work on inventions the pursuit of scientific knowledge, as well as created some of the greatest masterpieces of all time, including the Mona Lisa. In 1516, he was invited into the service of the King of France, Francois I, where he was given the title of first painter, engineer, and architect to the king. He remained in France under this title until his death in 1519.

Leonardo DaVinci was a true pioneer for flight. He was extremely far ahead of his time that it would be some 300 to 400 years before his ideas were improved upon or even fathomed. An artist and engineer, but a genius! That's DaVinci.

Sources

http://library.thinkquest.org/3044/

http://www.lairweb.org.nz/leonardo/index.shtml

http://sunsite.dk/cgfa/vinci/index.htm

http://www.mos.org/sln/Leonardo/