What is special about the Da Vinci bridge?
What is special about the Da Vinci bridge? This unique design is held together by its own weight without requiring any ties or connections, in fact when a downward force is applied to the structure the braced members are forced to interlock and tighten together through the structural concepts of shear and bending. Da Vinci called it “The Bridge of Safety”.
What is the science behind the Davinci bridge?
The Leonardo Bridge designed by da Vinci consists of pieces of wood wedged into each other. The bridge is self-supporting, where no fixing agents such as dowels, screws or nails are necessary. Da Vinci used the self-locking mechanism as a basis, in which the structure strengthens itself under the load.
Why did Da Vinci build the bridge?
Da Vinci submitted his innovative bridge sketch when Sultan Bayezid II, ruler of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512, put out a request for bridge designs that could span across the Golden Horn. This natural river estuary separated the cities of Galata and Istanbul.
Why is the Da Vinci bridge so strong?
In Leonardo's time, masonry was the preferred material. Masonry will break easily under tension, yet it can withstand huge compressive forces. So that was Leonardo's choice of material when he pitched his bridge design to the Ottoman ruler Sultan Bayezid II of Turkey in 1502.