Event 2: Leonardo Da Vinci + Gravity

Today I attended Leonardo Da Vinci + Gravity and was surprised with what I learned. Attending this event informed me that Leonardo Da Vinvi developed the concept of gravity years before Galileo. It fascinated me hearing that he was able to get so close to understanding the forces of gravity without knowledge of math. He created sketches, notes, and even explained some experiments onto a codex. The hosts stated that Leonardo’s reason for studying gravity was so that he could improve his paintings. An artist has to understand the world properly in order to translate their experiences onto their art. I was able to connect what I learned to the  material we learned on Week 2: Math + Art. Artists use math such as geometry to improve their artwork (Vesna). The way science and math come together as one to create amazing art is something so admiring.

In Leonardo’s world there were three kinds of gravity. He explored the ideas of geometric, natural, and accidental gravity. A specific experiment/sketch that Leonardo created was on the corner of a page. It was a pitcher and a triangle that was meant to demonstrate gravity and acceleration. The pitcher poured out water in a straight line. This meant that he was aware that water wasn’t falling at a constant velocity but would accelerate (Caltech). Leonardo was also aware of a constant of nature, a physics concept known today as the gravitational constant (G). The gravitational constant  quantifies the exact strength of gravity’s pull which determines how quickly it accelerates an object (Broad). It is amazing how much Leonardo knew. It makes me wonder how different of a world we would live in if he officially discovered gravity 200 years before Galileo.

Works Cited

Caltech. “Leonardo Da Vinci’s Forgotten Experiments Explored Gravity as a Form of Acceleration.” California Institute of Technology, www.caltech.edu/about/news/leonardo-da-vincis-forgotten-experiments-explored-gravity-as-a-form-of-acceleration. Accessed 19 May 2023.

Broad, William J. “A Doodle Reveals Da Vinci’s Early Deconstruction of Gravity.” The New York Times, 17 Feb. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/02/17/science/leonard-da-vinci-gravity.html.

Vesna, Victoria. Week 3: Math + Art. Design and Media Arts 9: Art, Science, and Technology. University of California, Los Angeles. May 2023.