Leonardo da Vinci designed a water screw to move water upward from a lower level.
His hydraulic studies included screw-shaped devices for raising water. A rotating helical surface traps water and carries it upward through a tube or trough. Leonardo’s drawings explored how such mechanisms could be built and driven by human or mechanical power.
The underlying principle was not Leonardo’s invention. The device is historically associated with Archimedes, and similar water-lifting machines existed before the Renaissance. Leonardo’s importance is his detailed analysis and adaptation of hydraulic machinery.
A water screw is also different from a water wheel. A water wheel extracts energy from flowing or falling water, while a screw can use rotational power to lift water.