达芬奇的五大超前构想

的五大超前构想

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.

恐怕大多数人都会将列奥纳多・达芬奇和他的那些艺术杰作联系起来，例如《蒙娜丽莎》和《最后的晚餐》；但是，这位文艺复兴的巨匠可不只是一名伟大的画家，他还是一位有着奇思妙想的发明家。

达芬奇会将他的构思粗略地画在笔记本上，其中很多这样的笔记本在他1519年去世后都被保存了下来。尽管没有证据能证明达芬奇的任何一项奇妙装置在他有生之年被真正制造出来，但是这些草图表明，他的某些想法在当年可是极具革命性的。

从飞行器到人形机器人，达芬奇的下列五项发明完全超越了它们所处的时代。

飞行器

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.

达芬奇日记中那些数以百计的有关人类和鸟类飞行的记录表明，他渴望像鸟儿一样在空中翱翔。事实上，他画的那些所谓飞行器的设计图，也就是他仔细地画在笔记本上的草图，就都仿照了鸟类和蝙蝠的身体结构。

达芬奇的这些设计都有一大特点：一个木制框架上连着一对巨大的机翼，勇敢的飞行员可以面朝下趴在框架内，通过转动曲柄带动一组连杆和滑轮运动，从而使那对机翼上下拍动。但这样的飞行器并没有引擎，因此，不清楚它将如何飞离地面。而且，即使达芬奇让飞行器从一处高崖上起飞，他也不大可能完好无损地返回地面。

人们不得不又等了400年左右，世界上才出现了第一台真正能够飞行的机器。直到1903年，威尔伯・莱特和奥维尔・莱特兄弟才驾驶着动力飞机成功完成了首航。

历史课上经常忽略的一个事实是达芬奇还有好战的一面。他最富有的资助人之一是当时的米兰大公卢多维科・斯福尔扎。15世纪末，斯福尔扎正肩负着保卫意大利公国、抵抗法军入侵的责任。

为了赢得斯福尔扎的青睐，达芬奇设计了许多军用器械，其中包括一辆可以用来在战场上阻击敌军的装甲车。这是一辆覆盖着层层金属片、依靠人力驱动的四轮车。意大利士兵可以从金属片上的狭缝中用武器射击，而不会被敌军的火力击中。

跟他设计的飞行器一样，达芬奇设计的装甲车也从未被制造出来过。直到400年后的第一次世界大战期间，装甲坦克才成为欧洲战场上必备的武器装备。

没错，就是画《最后的晚餐》的那个人曾经设计过一件武器――至少在某些方面，这件武器跟现代的机关枪很像。达芬奇设计的这挺有33个枪管的枪又被称作“管风琴枪”，由安装在一个旋转架上的33支小口径枪组成。射击手在第一轮射击完毕后，几乎可以立即转动旋转架开始第二轮射击。然后，士兵们可以进行第二轮填弹，射击完毕后再继续进行第三轮射击。

虽然这一套装备不是自动运行的，但它可能是对文艺复兴时期的火炮的一种改进。可是，这种枪也从未被制造出来。直到1862年美国内战期间，一种速射武器――加特林机枪――才被成功地用于战斗。

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.

达芬奇并不是第一个设计出允许人类在水下“呼吸”的服装的发明家。但是，这位艺术家的设计绝对是考虑得较为周详的方案之一。他设计的潜水服由上衣、裤子和一个嵌有玻璃护目镜的面罩组成，几乎全部由皮革制成。根据他的笔记记录，空气可以被存储在皮质上衣的一个凸起部位，以供水下呼吸之用。

这套潜水服还有个特点：有一个贮存尿液的容器（达芬奇料想潜水者会在水下停留相当长的时间），还有各式各样的口袋，可以装一些水下必备工具（如小刀和吹响了就意味着下潜任务结束的号角）。

直到20世纪中叶，著名发明家和探险家雅克・库斯托和工程师埃米尔・加尼昂才发明了“水肺”，即现代的自携式水下呼吸器潜水服。

达芬奇的许多发明都超前于他的时代，但他的人形机器人设计图才是真正的未来派。在斯福尔扎的资助下，达芬奇发明了一个“机器骑士”，可以挥舞手臂，活动颈部，甚至连嘴巴都能开合。这个模样奇特的人偶是通过体外的几根由手摇柄牵动的缆绳和体内的一台齿轮传动机器来操纵的。

在达芬奇设计出机器骑士后约450年，他那些详细绘制的设计草图重见天日。21世纪初，一位机器人专家在设计现代的人形机器人时，就参考过达芬奇这些笔记中的一页。机器人专家马克・罗沙伊姆业已为美国宇航局和洛克希德・马丁公司打造了多个机器人系统，他曾在2002年制作出了达芬奇的机器骑士的实用模型。