The longer the cord, the easier the sideways pull
Weights on cords of increasing length, force values 400 to 160000
The recto studies how a suspended weight resists being pulled sideways from the vertical. Leonardo states that a weight hung on a longer cord is easier to move transversely, and that the more a horizontal cord draws the weight away from its perpendicular, the more labour it demands of the mover. A ladder of diagrams (86, 87) labels the rising resistance with growing numbers as the pull angle widens: a c 400, a d 40000, a e 80000 and a f 160000.
On this page
A longer cord eases the transverse motion of a weight
The weight that is easier to move sideways is the one suspended by a longer cord. Leonardo makes cord length the governing variable for how readily a hanging load can be swung from the vertical.
Horizontal pull from the perpendicular multiplies the labour
The more a horizontal cord draws a suspended weight away from its perpendicular, the more labour it gives its mover. The accompanying figures quantify the growth with the paired values a c 400, a d 40000, a e 80000 and a f 160000.
Pulleys and hanging weights across the recto
The page is covered with small pulley-and-weight arrangements carrying the force figures 400, 4000, 40000, 80000 and 160000. They serve as the apparatus demonstrating how deviation from the vertical loads the mover.