Grenade Gloves

Leonardo the Inventor

In the twenty-first century, we use inventions on a daily basis without a thought to who had developed these tools. But after so many inventions and their inventors, who deserves the name as the greatest? I believe the title should be given to the man still famous today not only for his inventions but also for his art. He was able to see the truth when others gave way to what was thought to be true. The one known as the Renaissance man and a universal genius, Leonardo da Vinci, was born in the 15th century, yet his inventions’ influence can still be seen today.

In 1502, Leonardo presented a drawing of a single-span bridge to extend across the Golden Horn in Turkey. His idea was turned down and deemed impossible. Recently in May of 2006, Leonardo’s bridge was built and proving previous assumptions wrong. He was not only an inventor on the ground but also in the air. He was one of the first to try to create a helicopter powered by only four men. Though it wouldn’t have worked, this later led to new discovers and developments to our helicopter today.

Though Da Vinci was appalled by war, stating that it was “beastly madness”, numerous inventions of his were made for war times rather than peace. This is understandable seeing that Italy was constantly waging war. He designed a diving suit, with a device for holing enemy ships, incorporated a diving helmet and webbed gloves that are comparable to flippers frogmen wear at present. He then invented a ship to increase safety while out at sea. The design is called a double-hull and consists of two hulls, so the chances of sinking are decreased. On land, cannons existed before Leonardo’s time but they were inaccurate and couldn’t be fired quickly and repeatedly. He first improved the system of reloading to quicken the frequency and went on to invent the steam cannon and improve accuracy. Other devices he developed including missiles, multi-barrelled machine guns, grenades, and even a tank.

Leonardo’s inventions seem larger than life but there are inventions which he is less well-known for. This includes the mechanical calculator. Despite the fact that many think of Pascal as the creator of the calculator, it was Da Vinci who developed such ideas as much as hundred and fifty year previous. While he did not conceive the plan of solar panels, he had also seen the sun to be an alternative energy source. He heated water with just a concave mirror and the sunlight. He also developed a jack similar to car jacks used in the present.

In conclusion, I believe Leonardo is fit to be the greatest inventor because of his many accomplishments and his never resting curiosity that an inventor needs to create anything. Though countless people do not know he had developed his various inventions, which is now rapidly expanding with new developments in communications, everyone of us use the creations on a daily basis which shows how amazing and timeless his work was and still is.

About the Author

Broderick Booth Goran is a dedicated writer who concentrates on an assortment of different topics. One major focus is on the communications market, particularly telecommunications. Much of his work is published on-line and can be seen at BBG Communications.

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