Pulley systems and a household expense account
Rope over grooved sheaves distributing a lifted weight; a column of daily costs
A working sheet combining mechanics and bookkeeping. Sketches of pulley blocks and multi-wheel tackle illustrate how a rope with a grooved face can be received at any angle, and how a single rope threaded through many sheaves shares the lifted weight equally among them. Down the right-hand side runs a column of household expenses in soldi — hose, straw, fodder, wine, bread, meat, eggs, salad, barber, horses — with running totals summing to 279. Faint architectural sketches of arches, a round window and wall profiles occupy the lower left.
On this page
Column of household expenses in soldi
A tally of daily costs: hose 40, straw 60, fodder 42, wine 54, bread 18, meat 54, eggs 5, salad 3, barber 2 soldi 6 denari, horses 1. The items are added in a column with intermediate figures (22.9, 14, 13.19) and a total of 279.
Grooved pulleys receiving rope at any obliquity
A rope over the pulley a can be received by a pulley whose grooved face admits it at any angle, and a rope under the pulley b can likewise rest in a pulley positioned with its groove for any obliquity. The letters a and b mark the two pulley diagrams.
Weight shared equally among many sheaves
One and the same rope can produce many motions by its own single motion; passing through many wheels, the weight being lifted is distributed equally to each of them. The principle underlies the compound tackle sketched at the upper left.
Faint sketches of arches and a round window
Below the pulley studies at the lower left are small architectural sketches: a row of round-headed arches, a circular window or oculus, and several stepped wall or moulding profiles. These are drawn only, with no accompanying transcribed text.