Ricochet of a Stone and a Water Vortex
Whether a stone's motion before and after a bounce is equal; a whirlpool sketch
Leonardo asks whether the motion of a stone along a continuous line equals its motion along a reflected (broken) line — that is, before and after a bounce — a study of ricochet. A swirling whirlpool of water (gorgo) is drawn at the upper right, and at the foot of the page are two schematic diagrams of a stone running along a horizontal line and a stone bouncing across the ground. A column of figures at upper left multiplies 1855 by 15 to give 27825. A stamp of the Institut de France library appears at the left.
On this page
Is motion equal before and after a bounce?
Leonardo asks whether the motion made by the stone along a continuous line is equal to the motion along a reflected line — that is, before the bounce and after the bounce. The question compares a straight trajectory with a deflected, ricochet path.
Whirlpool of water (gorgo)
A swirling vortex of water is drawn at the upper right, paired in the caption with the bounce (balzo e gorgo d'acqua). Curved strokes spiral inward toward a dark centre, suggesting the churning of a whirlpool.
Multiplication of 1855 by 15
A column of figures at upper left works the product of 1855 and 15, with the partial results 9275 and 1855 summing to 27825.
Diagrams of a running and a bouncing stone
At the foot of the page two schematic line diagrams illustrate the captions: a stone running along a horizontal line, and a stone bouncing on the ground, marked with small circles at points along the paths.