達芬奇的五大超前構想

的五大超前構想

Most people probably associate Leonardo da Vinci with his great works of art， like the "Mona Lisa" and "The Last Supper"， but this Renaissance man was more than just a great painter—he was also an inspired inventor.

Da Vinci sketched out his ideas in notepads， many of which have been preserved since his death in 1519. And while there's no evidence that any of da Vinci's contraptions were built during his lifetime， these sketches show that some of his ideas were revolutionary.

From flying machines to humanoid robots， here are five da Vinci inventions that were truly before their time.

恐怕大多數人都會將列奧納多·達芬奇和他的那些藝術杰作聯系起來，例如《蒙娜麗莎》和《最后的晚餐》；但是，這位文藝復興的巨匠可不只是一名偉大的畫家，他還是一位有著奇思妙想的發明家。

達芬奇會將他的構思粗略地畫在筆記本上，其中很多這樣的筆記本在他1519年去世后都被保存了下來。盡管沒有證據能證明達芬奇的任何一項奇妙裝置在他有生之年被真正制造出來，但是這些草圖表明，他的某些想法在當年可是極具革命性的。

從飛行器到人形機器人，達芬奇的下列五項發明完全超越了它們所處的時代。

飛行器

Da Vinci's hundreds of journal entries on human and avian1） flight suggest he longed to soar through the air like a bird. In fact， his designs for a so-called flying machine—carefully sketched out in his notebooks—were modeled after the anatomy2） of birds and bats.

Da Vinci's designs featured a pair of enormous wings connected to a wooden frame， inside of which an intrepid3） pilot could lie facedown and move the wings up and down by turning a crank4） that moved a series of rods and pulleys5）. But the machine had no engine， so it's unclear how it would get off the ground. And even if da Vinci flew his machine off a high cliff， it's unlikely that he would have returned to the ground in one piece.

The world would have to wait another 400 years or so for a machine that could really fly. It wasn't until 1903 that brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright made their first successful flight in a powered aircraft.

What's often skipped over in history class is the fact that da Vinci also had a more militant6） side. One of his wealthiest patrons7） was Ludovico Sforza， then the Duke of Milan， who at the end of the 15th century was charged with defending his Italian state against an invading French army.

To gain Sforza's favor， da Vinci designed a number of instruments of warfare， including an armored vehicle that could be used to thwart8） the enemy in battle. The invention consisted of a wagon9） propelled10） by manpower and covered in sheets of metal. Slits11） in the metal would allow Italian soldiers to shoot their weapons without being struck by enemy fire.

Like his flying machine， da Vinci's armored car was never built. And it wasn't until 400 years later， during World War I， that armored tanks became a fixture of European battlefields.

That's right： the same man who painted "The Last Supper" designed a weapon that， at least in some ways， resembles a modern machine gun. Da Vinci's design for a 33-barrelled gun， also called an organ， consisted of 33 small guns mounted on a revolving frame. The gunner could fire the first round of weapons and then turn the frame to fire the next round of weapons almost immediately. Soldiers could then load that second round， fire it and then move on to the third round.

Although the system wasn't automatic， it likely would have been an improvement over Renaissance-era artillery. However， the gun was never built. It wasn't until 1862， during the American Civil War， that a rapid-fire weapon—the Gatling Gun—was successfully used in battle.

達芬奇日記中那些數以百計的有關人類和鳥類飛行的記錄表明，他渴望像鳥兒一樣在空中翱翔。事實上，他畫的那些所謂飛行器的設計圖，也就是他仔細地畫在筆記本上的草圖，就都仿照了鳥類和蝙蝠的身體結構。

達芬奇的這些設計都有一大特點：一個木制框架上連著一對巨大的機翼，勇敢的飛行員可以面朝下趴在框架內，通過轉動曲柄帶動一組連桿和滑輪運動，從而使那對機翼上下拍動。但這樣的飛行器并沒有引擎，因此，不清楚它將如何飛離地面。而且，即使達芬奇讓飛行器從一處高崖上起飛，他也不大可能完好無損地返回地面。

人們不得不又等了400年左右，世界上才出現了第一臺真正能夠飛行的機器。直到1903年，威爾伯·萊特和奧維爾·萊特兄弟才駕駛著動力飛機成功完成了首航。

歷史課上經常忽略的一個事實是達芬奇還有好戰的一面。他最富有的資助人之一是當時的米蘭大公盧多維科·斯福爾扎。15世紀末，斯福爾扎正肩負著保衛意大利公國、抵抗法軍入侵的責任。

為了贏得斯福爾扎的青睞，達芬奇設計了許多軍用器械，其中包括一輛可以用來在戰場上阻擊敵軍的裝甲車。這是一輛覆蓋著層層金屬片、依靠人力驅動的四輪車。意大利士兵可以從金屬片上的狹縫中用武器射擊，而不會被敵軍的火力擊中。

跟他設計的飛行器一樣，達芬奇設計的裝甲車也從未被制造出來過。直到400年后的第一次世界大戰期間，裝甲坦克才成為歐洲戰場上必備的武器裝備。

沒錯，就是畫《最后的晚餐》的那個人曾經設計過一件武器——至少在某些方面，這件武器跟現代的機關槍很像。達芬奇設計的這挺有33個槍管的槍又被稱作“管風琴槍”，由安裝在一個旋轉架上的33支小口徑槍組成。射擊手在第一輪射擊完畢后，幾乎可以立即轉動旋轉架開始第二輪射擊。然后，士兵們可以進行第二輪填彈，射擊完畢后再繼續進行第三輪射擊。

雖然這一套裝備不是自動運行的，但它可能是對文藝復興時期的火炮的一種改進。可是，這種槍也從未被制造出來。直到1862年美國內戰期間，一種速射武器——加特林機槍——才被成功地用于戰斗。

Da Vinci wasn't the first inventor to design a suit that can allow humans to "breathe" underwater. However， the artist's diving suit was definitely one of the more thought-out designs. Constructed almost entirely of leather， his suit consisted of a jacket， pants and a mask inlaid with glass goggles12）. According to his notes， air could be stored in a bulge13） in the leather jacket to allow for underwater breathing.

The suit also featured a storage container for urine14） （da Vinci thought the diver would be able to stay submerged for quite some time）， as well as various pockets for necessary underwater instruments， such as a knife and a horn to blow to signal the end of the mission.

It wasn't until the middle of the 20th century that the famous inventor and explorer Jacques Cousteau and engineer Emile Gagnan invented the Aqua Lung， or modern scuba15） suit.

Many of da Vinci's inventions were before his time， but his designs for a humanoid robot were truly futuristic. Under the patronage of Sforza， da Vinci invented a "robotic knight" that could wave its arms， move its neck and even open and close its mouth. This strange doll was controlled externally by cables operated with a hand crank， as well as by an internal， gear-driven machine.

About 450 years after da Vinci designed his robotic knight， his detailed sketches of the invention were rediscovered. And in the early 21st century， one roboticist took a page from these notes in designing an anthropomorphic16） robot for the modern age. Mark Rosheim， a roboticist who has built robotic systems for NASA and Lockheed Martin， built a working model of da Vinci's robotic knight in 2002.

達芬奇并不是第一個設計出允許人類在水下“呼吸”的服裝的發明家。但是，這位藝術家的設計絕對是考慮得較為周詳的方案之一。他設計的潛水服由上衣、褲子和一個嵌有玻璃護目鏡的面罩組成，幾乎全部由皮革制成。根據他的筆記記錄，空氣可以被存儲在皮質上衣的一個凸起部位，以供水下呼吸之用。

這套潛水服還有個特點：有一個貯存尿液的容器（達芬奇料想潛水者會在水下停留相當長的時間），還有各式各樣的口袋，可以裝一些水下必備工具（如小刀和吹響了就意味著下潛任務結束的號角）。

直到20世紀中葉，著名發明家和探險家雅克·庫斯托和工程師埃米爾·加尼昂才發明了“水肺”，即現代的自攜式水下呼吸器潛水服。

達芬奇的許多發明都超前于他的時代，但他的人形機器人設計圖才是真正的未來派。在斯福爾扎的資助下，達芬奇發明了一個“機器騎士”，可以揮舞手臂，活動頸部，甚至連嘴巴都能開合。這個模樣奇特的人偶是通過體外的幾根由手搖柄牽動的纜繩和體內的一臺齒輪傳動機器來操縱的。

在達芬奇設計出機器騎士后約450年，他那些詳細繪制的設計草圖重見天日。21世紀初，一位機器人專家在設計現代的人形機器人時，就參考過達芬奇這些筆記中的一頁。機器人專家馬克·羅沙伊姆業已為美國宇航局和洛克希德·馬丁公司打造了多個機器人系統，他曾在2002年制作出了達芬奇的機器騎士的實用模型。