Studies of Pulleys, Gears and Springs
With notes on weights, falling bodies, and the movement of the horse
The sheet is crowded with mechanical drawings — pulley blocks, toothed and star-shaped wheels, screws and coiled springs — worked at several orientations of the page. A pulley diagram is labelled with m for the weight and n for the man or windlass. Short notes state that bodies of the same material falling from one height give a smaller blow the longer they take to fall, and set down aesthetic maxims praising the movement of the statue of Pavia and the trot that is almost that of a free horse. Arithmetical operations and a lettered figure are also present.
On this page
Pulley labelled for weight and hauling power
A pulley arrangement carries the numbers 10, 10 and the letters n, m, glossed so that m is the weight and n is the man or the windlass ('argano'). Around it the sheet is filled with pulley blocks, star and toothed wheels, screws and springs drawn from several angles.
Bodies of equal material falling from one height
All things of the same material that fall from one and the same height give a smaller blow, one than another, in proportion as they take longer to fall. The note is written after turning the sheet through a right angle.
Maxims on the movement of the horse
Of the statue at Pavia the movement is praised more than anything else, and the imitation of ancient things is held more praiseworthy than the modern. The trot is almost of the quality of a free horse, and where natural liveliness is lacking one must supply an accidental one.
Arithmetical operations
A block of figures records calculations, among them 1,000,000 and 10,000, with paired columns of smaller numbers. A separate lettered figure runs a, b, c, d, e against 2, 4, 6, 8.