Gravitation

2023: Leonardo da Vinci discovered the laws of gravity 100 years ahead of Newton

In mid-February 2023, researchers from the California Institute of Technology, having studied the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, concluded that he discovered the principle of gravity several centuries before other scientists came to him.

Isaac Newton is credited with the first formulation of the theory of gravity, which he published in the second half of the 17th century. This gravitational constant would later be used by Newton to define his laws of motion and Albert Einstein in his general theory of relativity. Leonardo knew he had found something, but he wasn't sure what it was. But a published study in February 2023 questions Newton's primacy in understanding gravity.

Leonardo da Vinci discovered the laws of gravity 100 years ahead of Newton

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology noticed that on the hypotenuse of one of the triangles drawn by da Vinci, "Equation di Moti" was written. They decided to reveal the meaning of the phrase, for which they had to decipher Leonardo's mirror handwriting. The manuscript described an experiment in which a filled jug moved in a straight path parallel to the ground. At the same time, water poured out of it or sand poured out. In the notes, da Vinci indicated that water or sand will not fall at a constant speed, but will accelerate under the influence of gravity. The substance will also stop accelerating horizontally as the jug will stop affecting it and the acceleration will be "purely downward."

In the diagram, Leonardo demonstrated that if the movement of the pitcher accelerates at the same speed at which gravity accelerates the falling material, then an equilateral triangle will arise. This was designated as "Equation di Moti," which means "alignment of movements." He modeled the gravitational constant with an accuracy of about 97%. Inaccuracies in Leonardo da Vinci's measurements were due to the fact that the tools of his time could not determine the time of the fall of objects until fractions of seconds.

According to scientists from the California Institute of Technology, they do not know whether Leonardo da Vinci conducted further experiments or investigated this question more deeply. But the fact that he thought about the problem in early 1500, according to the researchers, demonstrates how far his thinking has come in the scientific environment at that point.^[1]

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