Science Corner!Day 4

Scientist of the Day

Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 and died on May 2, 1519. He was Italian.

Different to a typical surname you might think of today, "da Vinci" simply means "of Vinci", the Tuscan town where he was born.

He lived during the Renaissance, a cultural movement that led to important developments in areas such as art and science.

Leonardo d Vinci is perhaps best known as a painter, with his legendary works including the Mona Lisa, the Vitruvian Man and the Last Supper, among others.

Leonardo da Vinci wasn't just an incredible artist, he was an inventor, scientist, mathematician, engineer, writer, musician and much more. Talk about talented!

Leonardo was the first man to even consider some things that we take for granted today. His conceptual drawings included plans for musical instruments, war machines, calculators, boats and other ideas. Many of these plans were limited by the level of technology at the time.Da Vinci’s Helicopter designs,

approximately 500 years before the first helicopter was built

Da Vinci’s tank designs, approximately 400 years before the first modern tank was built

Da Vinci’s tank designs, were so detailed, engineers were able to create a small working version of his tank here

Da Vinci’s design for a catapult Da Vinci’s design for a glider

Da Vinci’s designed the first parachute

too. Modern parachutists have proven that it was

a good design!

Da Vinci was a very interesting man with lots of interesting quirks and habits – he wrote in the opposite direction to what is normal, meaning you’d need a mirror to read it properly.

So the next time somebody says that Da Vinci was a painter, make sure to remind them that he was an amazing inventor too!

Space Facts• Footprints and tyre tracks left behind

by astronauts on the moon will stay there forever as there is no wind to blow them away.

• Jupiter's 4 biggest moons are named Europa, Ganymede, Callisto and Io.• Halley’s Comet was last seen in the inner Solar System in 1986, it will be visible again from Earth sometime in 2061 (get your camera ready).• Because of lower gravity, a person who weighs 100kg on earth would only weigh 38kg on the surface of Mars.• Saturn isn't the only ringed planet, other gas giants such as Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune also have rings, they are just less obvious.

Science Picture of the Day

Say hello to the ‘Deepsea Challenger’!

On March 26th 2012, James Cameron (the man who directed Titanic) navigated this submarine down to the bottom of the Marianas Trench, the deepest place on Earth hidden under a huge volume of water. This had not been done since 1960.

It took Cameron over 70 minutes to travel the 7 miles down to the bottom of Earth to take videos and to collect scientific data of the plant and animal life that live in this deep and dark place.

Explanation – The Deepsea Challenger

Science Picture of the Day

Explanation – The Urine Powered PhoneThe newest source of battery power for your mobile

phone is both cheap and abundant. Scientists at the University of the West of England in Bristol report that bacterial fuel cells made using human urine can charge a mobile phone battery through a normal USB cable and socket. The researchers first demonstrated in 2011 that urine is a viable way to create enough electricity to charge small electrical items just like coal or turf does in large electrical stations: As it cascades through a series of fuel cells, hungry bacteria consume it and release electrons, which generate an electrical current.

However, the devices are not quite portable enough yet…. It may be some time before we can use this eco friendly technology in our everyday life but the results so far are promising.