Conduits Raising Water and the Power of Its Mover
Water driven through a bent conduit acts along the straight line b a; lifting water must repay in usefulness.
Red-chalk conduit sketches accompany two short notes on water in pipes. In one, water driven into c through b and issuing at a is said to behave, as to the power of its mover, as if it moved straight along the line b a. In the other, Leonardo argues that conduits which raise water must, at every degree of height gained, acquire degrees of usefulness. Further faint red-chalk text is present on the sheet beyond the lines transcribed here.
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Water driven through a bent conduit c-b-a
The conduit is lettered c, a, b. Water driven into c through b and issuing at a behaves, as regards the power of its mover, as if it moved straight along the line b a.
Raising water must be repaid in usefulness
Leonardo states that conduits which raise water must, at every degree of height gained, acquire degrees of usefulness. The gain in elevation is weighed against the benefit obtained.