A new idea

In the early 1500s, Leonardo’s studies of perpetual motion found a fresh impetus thanks to his experiments on the water element. He saw hydrostatic pressure as an antagonist to gravitational force and thus considered using it to assist the upward movement of the overbalanced wheels, which were immersed in a basin up to their rotation axis.

Leonardo da Vinci, Codex Arundel (BLL), f. 34v - Study for the design of an overbalanced wheel
Leonardo da Vinci
London, British Library, Codex Arundel, f. 34v
1499-1500
Leonardo da Vinci, Codex Atlanticus (BAM), f. 624v - Analysis of Domenico Balestrieri’s perpetual wheel
Leonardo da Vinci
Milan, Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Codex Atlanticus, f. 624v
1508-1510
Leonardo da Vinci, Manuscript E (IFP), f. 50r - Perpetual hydraulic wheel
Leonardo da Vinci
Paris, Institut de France, Manuscript E, f. 50r
1513-1514
Leonardo da Vinci, Codex Atlanticus (BAM), f. 267v - Studies for the design of a mechanical perpetual wheel
Leonardo da Vinci
Milan, Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Codex Atlanticus, f. 267v
1515
Leonardo da Vinci, Codex Atlanticus, BAM, f. 1061r - Studies for an Archimedean screw
Leonardo da Vinci
Milan, Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Codex Atlanticus, f. 1061r
1513-1514