Technology
- Leonardo da Vinci draws a wheel-lock musket, the first known appearance of this type of ignition, in which a spring mechanism causes a ratchet to strike sparks from iron and pyrites or flint. It will come into use, replacing match ignition, about 15 years later. By this date, he has also designed the first helicopter (although it is probably unworkable).
- Rifling in gun barrels is introduced: grooves are cut in spirals into the interior of the barrels, imparting a stabilizing spin to the projectile.
- Defence of Pisa demonstrates the effectiveness of the trace italienne form of fortification.
- Ottavio de'Petrucci prints music with movable type in Venice.
Read more about this topic: 1500 In Science
Famous quotes containing the word technology:
“One can prove or refute anything at all with words. Soon people will perfect language technology to such an extent that they’ll be proving with mathematical precision that twice two is seven.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)
“Primitive peoples tried to annul death by portraying the human body—we do it by finding substitutes for the human body. Technology instead of mysticism!”
—Max Frisch (1911–1991)
“The real accomplishment of modern science and technology consists in taking ordinary men, informing them narrowly and deeply and then, through appropriate organization, arranging to have their knowledge combined with that of other specialized but equally ordinary men. This dispenses with the need for genius. The resulting performance, though less inspiring, is far more predictable.”
—John Kenneth Galbraith (b. 1908)