How Archimedes' Screw Paved the Way for the First Helicopter

How Archimedes' Screw Paved the Way for the First Helicopter

Leonardo da Vinci’s first helicopter vision drew on Archimedes’ screw, turning an ancient idea into a bold dream of flight. H.J. Draper’s “The Lament For Icarus.” Credit: Herbert James Draper, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons From Archimedes’ screw to Leonardo da Vinci’s aerial experiments, Ancient Greek mechanics helped inspire the idea of the first helicopter during the Renaissance. Archimedes designed the screw to lift water, but its spir…