Weight, water and air in motion; a name jotted
Water lifted from the bottom by motion; a breathing-hole; the lustre of black
This dark transmitted-light spread carries several physical notes in Leonardo's mirror-script. The main note argues that no element weighs upon itself but only upon a lighter body, and that motion lets water be lifted from the bottom, so that without motion the weeds do not bend and the mud does not compact. A lettered figure discusses air taken in at a b as lighter than the c d that pulls it, and observes that the lustre of black inclines to blue; another figure marks a breathing-hole and asks what difference there is in drawing air from a rather than b. The name 'Benedetto' is jotted on the facing leaf 254r.
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Weight of elements and water lifted by motion
No element weighs in itself but upon a lighter body, and less upon a heavier one; through motion the light body weighs both on itself and on the heavier. Hence water is lifted from the bottom by motion and, without motion, does not press upon it, so the weeds on the bottom do not bend and the mud does not become compact.
The lustre of black inclines to blue
Beside a lettered figure Leonardo notes that the shining light, the lustre, of a black surface tends toward blue. The same block observes that the part a b will catch the wind, being lighter than the c d that pulls it.
Air drawn through a breathing-hole
A figure marks a as a breathing-hole (isfiatatoio) and asks what difference there is between drawing the air from a and drawing it from b, and whether the weights differ when a is open. The note probes the movement of air through openings.
