Leonardo da Vinci designed and studied versions of Archimedes’ screw for lifting water continuously.
An Archimedes’ screw consists of a helical blade inside a tube or cylinder. When the screw rotates, water becomes trapped between turns and is carried upward. Leonardo drew screw-based water-lifting machines and investigated how their geometry and motion could be used in engineering projects.
The underlying invention was not originally Leonardo’s. It is traditionally associated with Archimedes of Syracuse, who lived in the third century BCE, although the exact ancient history of the device is debated. Leonardo’s contribution was to study, adapt, and represent hydraulic machinery during the Renaissance.
This machine differs from a water wheel. A water wheel extracts energy from moving water to turn a shaft; an Archimedes’ screw uses mechanical rotation to move water uphill. Modern versions still operate in drainage, irrigation, and wastewater treatment.