The Ideal City
The purpose of the city was to create a better place to live that was:
Sadly, his design did not become popular until after he died, along with many of his other works.
The Best Invention
In my opinion, his best invention was the parachute as it allowed us to explore many places around the world we would originally not have had the opportunity to. Also, it helped incredibly during both World Wars as it gave us an element of surprise if we did no have this, it could have impacted our lives today and it is all thanks to the 'Renaissance Man'. Another reason that the parachute invention was so vital is that it led to other inventions that he created and it could have possibly led to the invention of the aeroplane which is another crucial part of world discovery. So for Da Vinci's fantastic invention; we thank him!
Maddie
The purpose of the city was to create a better place to live that was:
- More united so that everyone was more connected and less likely to cause war.
- More hygienic so that people were less likely to get an illness. I think that the reason he designed this is because the plague had just struck Milan and he wanted to prevent any further illness from spreading.
- In my opinion, if Da Vinci had gone forward with his design for the ideal city the extent of the plague, which was during the Renaissance era, would not have gone to such a massive extent. Also, it would benefit our lives today as we would have known more about hygiene. Although Da Vinci did not know that there would be two wars in the future, he was already planning ahead as he had a vision and it would have allowed the wars to may not have existed.
It is brilliant that Da Vinci designed this, as it led to improved hygiene and the exposing of the real qualities of cleanliness. Also, it led to the unity of our country and our world which meant less chance of war and more chance of peace within our world; a bonus for everyone!
Parachute
Leonardo da Vinci made a quote stating:
'If a man has a tent made of linen of which the apertures have all been stopped up, and it be twelve braccia (about 23 feet) across and twelve in depth, he will be able to throw himself down from any height without suffering injury.'
Basically, this comment suggests that Da Vinci was specifying the qualities of a parachute. We have evidence that Da Vinci designed a parachute as he has drawings of a faint sketch of what he believed a parachute to look like and function. (See picture at the top of this page.)
If we study his design, we can see that he has made the canopy as a triangular shape rather than a sphere shape. This leads us to speculate if this would actually have worked. As the parachute was made of linen and wood, it is also speculated that the wooden structure was too heavy and may not allow the flying device to float. Many of Da Vinci's design were never actually tested by himself but in 2000 a daredevil, named Adrian Nichols, tested the parachute made from Da Vinci's sole design and found out that it did in fact work and was smoother than the modern day parachute.
It is fantastic that Da Vinci designed this as it led to human kind being able to discover many new things they wouldn't be able to do on the ground. Also, he allowed us to find new areas on Earth that would never been able to find let alone explore if it hadn't been for Leonardo da Vinci.
Scuba Gear
Da Vinci had always been fascinated with water, so when the opportunity came for him to design more water related inventions, he jumped at the opportunity. He designed these in Venice to attack ships form underwater. The device was made of leather and contained: - A bag like mask that went over the diver's head.
- Two cane tubes that led to a cork diving bell on the surface.
- A valve that allowed the diver to inflate and deflate a balloon allowing them to rise and sink easily.
Sadly, his design did not become popular until after he died, along with many of his other works.
The Best Invention
In my opinion, his best invention was the parachute as it allowed us to explore many places around the world we would originally not have had the opportunity to. Also, it helped incredibly during both World Wars as it gave us an element of surprise if we did no have this, it could have impacted our lives today and it is all thanks to the 'Renaissance Man'. Another reason that the parachute invention was so vital is that it led to other inventions that he created and it could have possibly led to the invention of the aeroplane which is another crucial part of world discovery. So for Da Vinci's fantastic invention; we thank him!
Maddie