Leonardo da Vinci studied and designed water wheels that converted flowing water into rotary motion. Water wheels were established machines, but Leonardo analyzed their construction and mechanical uses in detail.
A stream or falling flow pushes paddles or buckets around a wheel, producing rotation. That rotation can power mills, pumps and other machinery through shafts and gears. Leonardo’s notebooks examine waterways, wheel forms and methods for transmitting motion, linking hydraulic power to industrial work.
Leonardo did not invent the water wheel; versions were used in the ancient world and medieval Europe. His importance is his systematic investigation of how water could provide reliable mechanical power. A water wheel also differs from a bucket-chain pump: the wheel supplies motion, while the pump uses motion to lift water. The two could potentially be combined in a larger hydraulic system.