Perpetual Water Instrument with Alternating Jets
A device meant to return water to its own reservoir, with turned-stand studies below
The upper half of the sheet shows a water machine, labeled with the points m and n, that Leonardo calls a perpetual water instrument: it is meant to make the water return to its first reservoir, sending out now one jet and now the other. The mechanism is drawn as a wheel geared to raise water into two collecting buckets. The untranscribed lower half carries further studies, including a tall ornate turned stand crowned by a bowl (a candelabrum- or fountain-like object), a suspended weight or plumb study, and a flask.
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Perpetual water instrument returning to its reservoir
Leonardo describes an instrument that makes the water return to its first reservoir, so that it may circulate continuously. Points m and n label the parts of the water path.
Alternating jets and perpetual circulation
The note states that the device throws now one jet and now the other, presenting it as a perpetual water instrument. The claim of continuous self-returning motion places it among Leonardo's perpetual-motion schemes.
Wheel-and-bucket water-raising mechanism
The upper drawing shows a toothed wheel and shaft feeding two rectangular buckets that collect the raised water. The gearing and containers form the built mechanism referred to in the text.