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Paris Manuscript G — 140

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Bibliothèque de l'Institut de France, Paris

Se l'acqua può montare dal mare

alle cime delli monti1.

Profilo di monte tra piano e mare, con:

a - S n m

Il mare Occeano non può penetrare dalle radice alle cime de' monti che con lui confinano, ma sol si leva quanto la seccità del monte ne tira. E se per l'avversario la pioggia, che penetra dalla cima del monte alle radici sua che col mare confina[n], discende e mollifica la spiaggia opposita del medesimo monte e tira al continuo - sì come fa la cicognola, che versa per il suo lato più lungo - fussi quella che tira in alto l'acqua del mare, come se S n fussi la pelle del mare e la pioggia discende [d]alla cima del monte a allo n da un lato e dall'altro discende dallo a allo m, sanza dubbio questo sarebbe il modo dello stillare a feltro, o come si fa per la canna detta cicognola. E sempre l'acqua, che ha mollificato il monte, per la gran pioggia che discende dalli due oppositi lati, tirerebbe a sé il lato più lungo, la pioggia a n insieme coll'acqua del mare perpetuamente2, se 'l lato del monte a m fussi più lungo che 'l lato a n, il che essere non può, perché nessuna parte di terra che non sia sommersa dall'Occeano, sarà più bassa d'esso Occeano, ecc.

Whether water can rise from the sea to the tops of the mountains.

Profile of a mountain between plain and sea, with:

a - S n m

The Ocean sea cannot penetrate from the roots to the tops of the mountains that border it, but rises only as much as the dryness of the mountain draws up. And if, on the contrary, the rain that penetrates from the summit of the mountain to its roots which border the sea descends and softens the opposite slope of the same mountain and draws continually - just as the siphon does, which pours through its longer side - were that which draws the seawater upward: as if S n were the skin of the sea, and the rain descends from the summit of the mountain a to n on one side and on the other descends from a to m, without doubt this would be the manner of dripping through felt, or as is done with the tube called a siphon. And the water that has softened the mountain, through the great rain descending from the two opposite sides, would always draw to itself along the longer side the rain a n together with the seawater perpetually, if the mountain's side a m were longer than the side a n - which cannot be, because no part of land that is not submerged by the Ocean will be lower than that Ocean, etc.

Whether water can rise from the sea to the mountain tops

Against the siphon idea: rain, capillarity, felt-filtering and why the sea cannot climb a mountain

Hydraulics Geology

The page opens with the question whether water can rise from the sea to the summits of mountains, illustrated at right by a small profile of a mountain peak between plain and sea, with labelled points. Leonardo argues the Ocean cannot penetrate from a mountain's roots to its top; it rises only as far as the mountain's dryness draws it. He tests a siphon (cicognola) analogy, in which rain soaking both slopes would draw seawater up the longer side as through felt-filter distillation, and rejects it, since no unsubmerged land can lie lower than the Ocean, so no slope can be the required longer arm.

On this page

The siphon and felt-filter test for water climbing a mountain

If the skin of the sea is S n and rain descends from the summit a to n on one side and from a to m on the other, the wetted mountain would act like a siphon (cicognola) that pours through its longer arm, or like distillation dripping through felt, drawing seawater perpetually up the longer side.

No unsubmerged land lies lower than the Ocean

The Ocean cannot rise from a mountain's roots to its top; it climbs only as much as the mountain's dryness draws it. The siphon effect would require the slope a m to be longer than a n, which is impossible, because no part of land not submerged by the Ocean can be lower than that Ocean.

Reader's Edition — described with AI from the e-Leo transcription.