Experiment to Measure the Force of Percussion
Dropping a single link at a to lift a mass of links at n on a balance
The drawing shows a suspended horizontal balance beam with threads at its ends: at the right (n, a) a coil of chain-links sits atop a tall hatched block, while at the left (m, o) a thread hangs with a ring at its end. Leonardo describes an experiment to see the nature of percussion, measure its power and weigh its force: attach a great mass of thick links at n, drop a single link from a, and observe how far the greater weight is raised.
On this page
Testing percussion with falling chain-links
To study the nature, power and force of percussion, one attaches the threads to the ends of the balance, hangs a great weight of thick links at n, and at a lets a single link fall through various drops, watching how much the greater weight is lifted.
Balance, hanging links and hatched block
The apparatus is a beam hung by threads at m and n; at the right a stack of coiled links rests on a tall hatched prism, and at the left a thread ends in a small ring (o). The setup embodies the percussion experiment described in the text.