Leonardo da Vinci designed a chain pump to move water upward through linked containers.
A chain pump uses an endless chain fitted with discs, paddles, or small containers. When the chain moves, each element carries water upward from a lower level and releases it at the top. Leonardo studied and drew versions of this mechanism as part of his broader work on hydraulics and water management.
The principle was not Leonardo’s invention alone. Chain pumps had ancient precedents and were used in different forms before the Renaissance. Leonardo’s contribution was to analyze mechanisms, improve their arrangements, and record them with detailed drawings and notes.
The machine belongs to a group of practical devices that often receive less attention than his flying machines. Leonardo investigated pumps, canals, locks, mills, and methods for controlling water. A chain pump is also different from Archimedes’ screw: the screw lifts water along a rotating spiral, while the chain pump carries water in repeated moving units.