Leonardo da Vinci designed a catapult to throw stones using a spring-powered arm.
Leonardo studied catapults as part of his military engineering work. His designs used stored mechanical energy, including tension in a spring or bent component, to accelerate a throwing arm. Releasing that energy would launch a projectile toward a target.
A catapult is a broad term for a projectile-throwing engine. It differs from a crossbow, which launches a bolt with a bow and string, and from a trebuchet, which uses a pivoted beam and counterweight or traction system. Historical terminology can overlap, but Leonardo’s spring-based design is generally identified as a catapult.
The machine was a proposed design rather than a confirmed weapon built and tested in combat. It illustrates Leonardo’s effort to analyze force, leverage, tension, and release mechanisms in military devices.