Leonardo da Vinci has long been regarded as one of the greatest minds in the world. The Italian Renaissance sage is best known for his artworks such as “Mona Lisa” or “The Last Supper,” but he was also an avid inventor and researcher.
Da Vinci’s constant curiosity in the field of science led him to write numerous notebooks of sketches, inventions, observations about the world and theories. Notably, many of them were later proven to be true and became real in the world to come.
Therefore, it is believed that da Vinci was ahead of his time. Here are 11 of his predictions, both in terms of technology and the natural world around him, that actually happened.
Submarine
While he was alive, the Italian inventor had ideas for ships that could move underwater and even sketched designs for this type of submarine.
Realizing how dangerous this could be if it fell into the wrong hands, da Vinci kept his original submarine design completely secret. He wrote: “because of the evil nature of the assassins at the bottom of the ocean.”
Drawing imitating Leonardo da Vinci’s submarine sketch
Helicopter
The “antenna screw”, which is essentially a helicopter these days, is another one of those great inventions that Da Vinci cherished but couldn’t materialize at the time.
A true helicopter was not built until the middle of the 20th century, but da Vinci’s version is still considered one of the earliest, if not the first, prototypes.
In 2013, a group of Canadian inventors actually managed to implement da Vinci’s idea and create the world’s first human-powered helicopter flight.
Da Vinci’s “Aerial Screw”
Refrigerator
In addition to the big things, he also correctly predicted some real appliances, such as the first prototype of the “cooler” – also called a refrigerator.
Scholar Alessandro Vezzosi believes Da Vinci came up with the idea for the cooler when he was still alive around 1492 under the auspices of the Sforzas family in Milan. Da Vinci’s sketches show a complex system consisting of The bellows, skin chambers and taps look rather bulky compared to today’s refrigerators.
It is unknown if Da Vinci actually attempted to build this “cooler”, but it is believed to be the earliest known attempt at cooling – and he predicted this now ubiquitous technology from long before anyone began to have an idea or need for this machine .
Umbrella
Da Vinci also invented an early version of the parachute in a Codex Atlanticus entry. The inventor had an idea for an object made of sealed linen and held together by wooden posts.
“If a man had a structure of coated fabric 12 arm lengths wide and 12 arms high, he could throw himself from any great height without injury,” he claimed.
However, Da Vinci never tested this himself. In addition, modern testing has shown that the weight of the original parachute was extremely dangerous, putting the jumper at risk of injury upon landing.
Da Vinci’s square pyramidal parachute structure
Human evolution
Long before Charles Darwin shocked the world with his theory of evolution, Da Vinci had a similar idea. In fact, he clearly took the idea that humans evolved from apes for granted and didn’t even really try to argue it.
According to The protector , da Vinci’s comparative anatomical studies enabled him to observe the close relationship of the two species. As part of an outline for a book on anatomy, he wrote of “a description of man, which includes descriptions of creatures of the same kind, such as apes, apes, and many other similar species, is different.”
Anatomy Manuscript is one of da Vinci’s cult research works
Solar
Taking advantage of solar energy may seem like a modern concept, but it is not. Da Vinci even designed his own solar system to heat Florence’s water while he was alive.
While working for the Vatican, Da Vinci experimented with what he called “burning mirrors” and predicted that these concave reflectors could be used to focus and harness sunlight. In his solar system, these mirrors are used to heat water.
da Vinci actually used solar energy to boil water
Telescope
While people often think of Galileo before talking about astronomy, Da Vinci probably predicted the advent of the telescope a century earlier.
In the Codex Leicester, da Vinci is said to have written that for himself says “make glasses to see the moon bigger”
While there is no evidence whether he actually built such a device, the idea of using a magnifying glass to observe the stars and moons in the sky was also conceived by Da Vinci.
The idea of the telescope to observe the moon and stars was captured by the scientist
Da Vinci also designed what could be the first humanoid robot. Accordingly, the inventor’s “armored knight” could sit up, swing his arms, move his head, and open and close his jaws. This robot knight consists of a knight suit filled with gears and wheels that are connected to a system of pulleys and cables, allowing the primitive ‘robot’ to move on its own.
Da Vinci took advantage of the knight armor and machines he invented
Source: CafeF
