Description:

Basing themselves on some designs contained in the Codex Atlanticus and Codex Madrid I, two different types of chains have been reconstructed, inside a wooden frame. The enlarged reproductions of the links of the chains show that both are made up of a series of elements connected to one another by pins. If the chain is to be used in a pulley and hoist, it will be stronger than a rope, as it can be held by the teeth of a gear. Leonardo sometimes shows loads attached to the end of the chain, which give the idea of their being used to transmit discontinuous motion to just one toothed wheel; this solution can be applied to trigger mechanisms such as those of clocks.