The Inventions of the Renaissance And their importance are of such magnitude that we are seldom aware of how life evolved. Such basic things as paper photocopies or the pocket watch have their origins in this prolific stage of history.
And it is that the new philosophical conceptions, together with the scientific discoveries, allowed that the man evolved and thus to initiate the Modern History. Between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries lived inventors like Leonardo da Vinci, man discovered America and all the sciences were developed in a vertiginous manner.
20 magnificent inventions of the Renaissance
1- Modern Printing
One of the most important inventions of the time, which allowed knowledge to reproduce massively, is modern printing. It was the German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg , Who invented the printing press, which allowed him to print the 42-line Bible. This copy of the Bible owes its name to the number of lines printed on each page.
At that time was used the technique of the woodcut to print. This printing technique had many limitations. It was necessary to use tablets, which were worn quickly and did not allow to print many copies quickly.
The machine invented by Gutenberg is really an adaptation of the presses used to express grape juice. Modern printing allowed the production of books in Europe to grow exponentially.
2- Newspapers
Thanks to the invention of the printing press and to the increase of the demand of information between the population the newspaper was invented. Previous to the press, there were already informational pamphlets that were handwritten and distributed among the people, but the press allowed the newspaper to become daily or weekly and massed the number of copies that were produced.
The German Johann Carolus Was the first to print his newspaper Relation in 1605, then began to print the newspaper Avisa Relation oder Zeitung also in the Holy Roman Empire.
3- Thermoscope
Another great inventor of the time was Galileo Galilei . This multifaceted scientist made contributions to astronomy, physics and other sciences. He was credited with creating the first thermoscope, an apparatus that could differentiate changes in temperature from cold to heat, but was unable to indicate the actual temperature.
Subsequently, the Galileo students at the Cement Academy, created the first thermometer they called in honor of their teacher. Galileo also improved the telescope and was the first to use it to observe the stars. It is not known for sure who invented the telescope. It is said that it could have been Hans Lippershey, a German lens manufacturer or Frenchman Juan Roget, a lens manufacturer who lived in Catalonia.
4- Military geometric compass
Galilei also invented the military geometric compass, which consists of two arms with graduation scales that allowed different mathematical operations. Galilei patented this invention and produced it massively.
His commercial success was due to the fact that the inventor gave this instrument to important personalities of the time and also gave open courses on how to use it. Galileo devoted himself to astronomical observations and discovered several stellar bodies, including the moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
5- Microscope
In 1590, Zacharias Janssen Invented the microscope and is also considered to have been linked to the invention of the telescope. He was a neighbor of Hans Lippershey and also was a lens manufacturer.
Although the invention of the telescope is still confused, it is said from the microscope that Janssen could have invented it alone or with the help of his father. His microscope consisted of 9 magnifications and Janssen designed it for use by people with serious vision problems.
6- Rule of calculation
Although Galileo Galilei had already described it, it is considered John Napier In 1614, who invented the rule of calculation. This instrument with different scales of measures was used as an analog calculator to perform different mathematical operations. Thanks to the rule of calculation multiplication and division by addiction and subtraction were possible.
7- Rod of Jacob
In astronomy, the rod of Jacob or ballastella is an instrument that allows to measure the height of the celestial bodies. It is thought to have been devised by Levi ben Gerson or Jacob ben Makir. During the Renaissance, this instrument played an important role in the development of astronomy.
The Dutch astronomer Metius (Adriaan Adriaanszoon) used it to measure the position of the stars. The ballastella was improved by the German mathematician Gemma Frisius. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, thanks to the appearance of other instruments Jacob's rod became obsolete.
8- Davis Quadrant
It is not surprising that navigation was one of the most successful activities in the Renaissance period as many instruments were invented and improved to orient themselves at sea.
For example, Davis's backstaff or quadrant, invented by the English navigator John Davis And described in his book Seaman's secrets In 1594, replaced the quadrant, the astrolabe and the rod of Jacob as an instrument to measure the height of the celestial bodies in the horizon and thus to determine the latitude.
9- Dry Dike
Another great step for navigation was the construction of the first dry dock by Henry VII in 1495. A dry dock or carena is a port facility where boats are put out of the water to repair the case, which is also known as work Long live the carena.
Although this technology was not invented by the English, since it was known from Hellenism, these were the first to put it into practice after centuries of absence.
10- Astrolabe
The navigation of the time was strengthened thanks to the use of the astrolabe sailor. Although it is not known with certainty who invented it, it is attributed to the astronomer mallorquín Ramón Llull .
It was not until the time of the Renaissance that the use of this invention was described by the Spanish Martín Cortés de Albacar in 1551 in his book Art of Surfing . Also in the Age of Discovery, this was used by Vasco de Gama, Bartholomew Diaz and other sailors.
11- Compass
The Chinese and the compass also helped the Europeans make their great discoveries. The compass arrives in Europe at the time of the Renaissance.
The Chinese and the Arabs already used it to orient themselves. At first the magnetized needles floated in water-filled vessels and showed the north, but over time this invention was improved and the"dry compass"developed.
Some claim that the Italian Flavio Gioja was the inventor of the dry compass, which is nothing more than a needle on an axis inside a box. This box is called a compass, hence the name Compass.
The first mention in Chinese historical sources of the compass dates back to 1086. The author Shen Kuo in the"Dream Treasure Essay"described in detail the elements of the compass.
12- Arcabuz
At the end of century XIV the arquebus was invented. It is not known for sure whether it was invented in Spain or Germany, the fact is that already in the 1420s, during the Hussite Wars (1419-1434) this weapon was used.
At the end of the fifteenth century, the harquebus was a compulsory part of any European or Asian army. The etymology of the word arquebus suggests that it comes from the Arabic word Al Caduz, which could confirm its origin from Spain.
As early as the sixteenth century, the arquebus was replaced by the musket. Unlike the arquebuse, the musket's barrel is up to five feet long. In principles it was a very heavy weapon and it was necessary to support it in a fork which made difficult the mobility of the troops.
Therefore, with each new model the musket evolved and became lighter. The etymology of the word suggests that it comes from the French mousquette or the Italian moscetto. This could help determine their origin. At the end of the Renaissance period, the grenade musket was invented and operated with a wheel key mechanism.
13- Connecting rod and handle
Two important inventions that contributed to the development of the mechanism, as well as the wheel, are the connecting rod and the crank. No one knows when these important elements, present in any mechanism, were invented.
It is attributed to inventors of the time to have described the joint operation of these two elements, which are able to convert the effort into movement.
The Italian engineer Agostino Ramelli in his work Le diverse et artificiose machine by Capitano Agostino Ramelli Describes its operation. It is also interesting to note that in this book there are more than 95 different machine designs.
Also the German engineer Georg Andreas Böckler in its treaties Architectura Curiosa Nova and Theatrum Machinarum Novum Describes the joint operation of these elements.
14- Berbiquí
The berbiqui, an important tool in carpentry and joinery, was invented in the 15th century. Since then, large berbiikis were built in Europe, which were driven by water with a gear system and were used to drill large logs. The first specimen of this type is considered to have originated in the County of Flanders.
15- Pocket watch
During the Renaissance period, man took over time. Although the clock already existed, by the fifteenth century, clocks in the main towers of many European cities were appearing.
In addition the clock began to mark the minutes and seconds and invented the pocket watch. The rapid development of the clock at the time is due to a new paradigm and conception of time.
The pocket watch was invented in France, made possible by the inclusion of the spring in its mechanism. By the sixteenth century, pocket watches were no longer rare and their price declined considerably.
The most famous pocket watches of the time were called Nuremberg eggs, which were invented by the German Peter Henlein .
16- Spring
The pocket watch might not be possible without the creation of the spring. The first springs appeared in the fifteenth century and their development is closely linked to the watch industry. Although engineers already used the spring, it was not until 1676 when Robert Hooke Explained Hooke's Law, which explains that the force of a spring is proportional to its extension.
17- Bicycle
Although many of his inventions were not built, Leonardo da Vinci Is considered the most important inventor of the Renaissance. Between the inventions of the work Codex Atlanticus Is a drawing of the bicycle with all the attributes of any current bicycle: wheels, chain and seat. These drawings are stored in the Ambrosiana Library of Milan.
18- Helicopter
Da Vinci also drew the first helicopter prototype. The aerial screw was designed under the premise that just as a screw rises upward, so would a body being raised by being driven by a screw.
Apparently one of the dreams of Da Vinci, was that the man could fly as he also designed a flying machine inspired by the physiognomy of the bats.
19- Diving suit
Another dream of the inventor was the aquatic exploration. For this he designed a diving model. This diving suit had to be made of leather and the cane air tube.
Also in its design was found a bag to urinate. On the other hand, Leonardo da Vinci also developed the first car model.
The self-propelled vehicle of this inventor had to be made of wood and would be moved thanks to the force generated by the interaction of several cogwheels, that is of mechanisms.
20- Folding Bridge
Da Vinci designed many weapons and artifacts designed to defend his city from attackers and to be used in war. The most important of all is the folding bridge that would allow the city troops to retreat and be saved from an attack. He also developed models of tanks, attack carriages, cannons, catapults and others.