The penetrating power of the bombard
How far a ball drives into a wall, beneath a personal salutation
Written in red chalk, the leaf opens with a personal salutation addressed to "Alessandro, dearest, of Parma." Below it Leonardo sets a problem on the power of the bombard and the resistance of the object it strikes: how far the ball drives into a wall — by one braccio, by two braccia — and how the reasoning holds for every thickness.
On this page
Force of the bombard's ball against a wall
Leonardo frames a question on the power of the bombard and the resistance of the struck object: the ball penetrates the wall by one braccio and by two braccia, and he means the reasoning to hold for every thickness of wall.
Salutation to Alessandro of Parma
The page begins with a personal jotting — a salutation to "Alessandro, dearest, of Parma, by the hand of Christ" — set apart above the note on artillery that follows.