 Introduction
Basic Concepts
Simple Machines
 Applications
Activities for Students
Activities for Teachers
Visit the
Great AHS Engine
Project
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Applications
The links on this page are to Web sites which feature application of simple machines to performing a variety of tasks. The Leonardo Exhibit at the Boston Museum of Science is a particularly rich resource showing Leonardo's inventions in models and drawings. You may also be interested to learn about how simple machines are applied to mountain climbing and in rescue operations.
- The Inventor's
Workshop
- from the Exploring Leonardo Exhibit at the Boston Museum of
Science From this starting point learn about Leonardo's envisioning of
many modern machines in
- Visions of the
Future.
Here are additional resources about Leonardo's extraordinary inventivenss:
- Leonardo's Machines
- from the "Leonardo da Vinci" National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan, Italy. Look at models and drawings of machines invented by Leonardo for use in war and commerce. Among them are many applications of simple machines. Look especially at the Aerial Screw or the Revolving Crane.
- Virtual Leonardo
- from the "Leonardo da Vinci" National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan Cosmo Player is required.
- Machines and Inventions of Leonardo
- From the University of Virginia, this page features descriptions and links to images of mechanical devices created my Leonardo.
- Drawings
of Machines by Leonardo Da Vinci
- Here you'll find images of a variety of weapons and devices for doing work that Leonardo designed. The
images are of high quality and load into a special viewer screen for detailed inspection. Included is a link to a brief but comprehensive
biography of Leonardo.
- Scientific American: Leonardo's Invention of the Wheellock
- This article from Scientific American On-line describes Leonardo's invention of a device for firing a musket. It also includes a discussion and links to illustrations of other Leonardo inventions such as the bicycle.
- Leonardo's Polyhedra
- Although not really simple machines, George Hart's page celebrating Leonardo's constructions of regular polyhedra features a number of excellent images of these complicated geometric figures.
- Innovative Engineers of the Renaissance
- This site describes a traveling exhibit mounted by the Museum of the History of Science in Florence Italy.
- The models featured in this exhibit
- Here you can read a list and see images of the models of engineering innovations that are included in the museum's
exhibit.
- Renaissance of the Machine
- From an interview with the curator of the Museum Tour, The Art of Invention, this article discusses the dessing and applications of machinery inventions during the Renaissance period.
- The Development
of Engineering as a Profession
- This portion of the interview with Paolo Galluzzi describes how engineering emerged as a profession during the Renaissance.
- Mechanical Advantage as applied to bicycle brakes
- This page is part of Sheldon Brown's site on bicycle mechanics and maintenance. He does an excellent job of describing the application of lever geometry to the way cantilever bicycle brakes work.
- Ropes and Pulleys used in Rescue
- Here Mechanical advantage is discussed as applied to using ropes in rescue operations by the Bay Area Search and Rescue Council.
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