http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=Miksok09&feedformat=atomDead Media Archive - User contributions [en]2024-03-19T10:26:04ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.25.2http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6447Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-10T02:03:59Z<p>Miksok09: /* Bibliography */</p>
<hr />
<div>Ramelli's Bookwheel presents an interesting historical paradox. On the one hand, it demonstrates an immense technological breakthrough that combines engineering techniques (epicylic gears, horizontal axle, shelves that don't drop objects when spun around) that had immense ramifications on later conceptions of how to view and access information (the ability to easily cycle through various texts or windows of information) and incorporating epicyclic gears in more objects besides clocks, to name a couple of examples. On the other hand, it is an example of sheer engineering arrogance on the part of Ramelli. The Bookwheel, as it is presented by Ramelli himself, is a testament to his own self indulgence. Much like a Guitar Virtuoso, like Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen, who uses guitar solos as opportunities to demonstrate the limits of their manual dexterity and speed (often at the expense of good taste), Ramelli’s Bookwheel is an impractical showcase of Ramelli’s ability to implement complex engineering techniques to accomplish tasks that could have been done much more simply and efficiently. In fact, the Bookwheel’s ultimate impracticality is demonstrated by the fact that it was never constructed. Ramelli himself never made any actual specifications for how it should have been made. Elevated by its elegance and innovationa nd damned by its impracticality and excess, Ramelli's Bookwheel is a fascinating example of a medium that was dead simultaneously as it was alive. It was influential without ever actually existing.[[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work with a vertical axle. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines" (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
Excerpt from Ramelli's book, The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli, specifically the description he gives of the Bookwheel:<br />
<br />
<i> “This is a beautiful and ingenious machine, very useful and convenient for anyone who takes pleasure in study, especially those who are indisposed and tormented by gout. For with this machine a man can see and turn through a large number of books without moving from one spot. Moreover, it has another fine convenience in that it occupies very little space in the place where it is set, as anyone of intelligence can clearly see from the drawing.<br />
<br />
This wheel is made in the manner shown, that is, it is constructed so that when the books are laid on its lecterns they never fall or move from the place where they are laid even when the wheel is turned and revolved all the way around. Indeed, they will always remain in the same position and will be displayed to the reader in the same way as they were laid on their small lecterns, without any need to tie or hold them with anything. This wheel may be made as large or small as desired, provided the master craftsman who constructs it observes the proportions of each part of its components. He can do this very easily if he studies carefully all the parts of these small wheels of ours and the other devices in this machine. These parts are made in sizes to proportionate to each other. To give a fuller understanding and comprehension to anyone who wishes to make and operate this machine, I have shown here separately and uncovered all the devices needed for it, so that anyone may understand them better and make use of them for his needs.” </i> (508)<br />
<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Influence==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Memex===<br />
<br />
[[Image:Memex.jpg|thumb|left|A model of the Memex]]<br />
Conceived by Vannevar Bush in the 1940's, the memex continued the same logic as the Bookwheel, in terms of being able to keep track of information and be able to easily access that information while researching. The memex was essentially conceived as a self contained research library contained within a desk. On top of the desk are translucent screens for reading the material being studied. There is also a keyboard and sets of buttons and levers. One part of the desk is for storage of information using microfilm. (Bush 149) The user is able to store books under code numbers for easy access. They can also use the keyboard to skip through pages. (Bush 150). This descendant of the bookwheel was the predecessor of hyperlinks and works using the concept of associative thought. (Bush 148)<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Bush, Vannevar. As We May Think. 1945<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Memex picture. http://www.kantl.be/ctb/vanhoutte/teach/slides/hcl0502.htm <br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6445Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-10T01:53:52Z<p>Miksok09: /* Memex */</p>
<hr />
<div>Ramelli's Bookwheel presents an interesting historical paradox. On the one hand, it demonstrates an immense technological breakthrough that combines engineering techniques (epicylic gears, horizontal axle, shelves that don't drop objects when spun around) that had immense ramifications on later conceptions of how to view and access information (the ability to easily cycle through various texts or windows of information) and incorporating epicyclic gears in more objects besides clocks, to name a couple of examples. On the other hand, it is an example of sheer engineering arrogance on the part of Ramelli. The Bookwheel, as it is presented by Ramelli himself, is a testament to his own self indulgence. Much like a Guitar Virtuoso, like Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen, who uses guitar solos as opportunities to demonstrate the limits of their manual dexterity and speed (often at the expense of good taste), Ramelli’s Bookwheel is an impractical showcase of Ramelli’s ability to implement complex engineering techniques to accomplish tasks that could have been done much more simply and efficiently. In fact, the Bookwheel’s ultimate impracticality is demonstrated by the fact that it was never constructed. Ramelli himself never made any actual specifications for how it should have been made. Elevated by its elegance and innovationa nd damned by its impracticality and excess, Ramelli's Bookwheel is a fascinating example of a medium that was dead simultaneously as it was alive. It was influential without ever actually existing.[[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work with a vertical axle. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines" (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
Excerpt from Ramelli's book, The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli, specifically the description he gives of the Bookwheel:<br />
<br />
<i> “This is a beautiful and ingenious machine, very useful and convenient for anyone who takes pleasure in study, especially those who are indisposed and tormented by gout. For with this machine a man can see and turn through a large number of books without moving from one spot. Moreover, it has another fine convenience in that it occupies very little space in the place where it is set, as anyone of intelligence can clearly see from the drawing.<br />
<br />
This wheel is made in the manner shown, that is, it is constructed so that when the books are laid on its lecterns they never fall or move from the place where they are laid even when the wheel is turned and revolved all the way around. Indeed, they will always remain in the same position and will be displayed to the reader in the same way as they were laid on their small lecterns, without any need to tie or hold them with anything. This wheel may be made as large or small as desired, provided the master craftsman who constructs it observes the proportions of each part of its components. He can do this very easily if he studies carefully all the parts of these small wheels of ours and the other devices in this machine. These parts are made in sizes to proportionate to each other. To give a fuller understanding and comprehension to anyone who wishes to make and operate this machine, I have shown here separately and uncovered all the devices needed for it, so that anyone may understand them better and make use of them for his needs.” </i> (508)<br />
<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Influence==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Memex===<br />
<br />
[[Image:Memex.jpg|thumb|left|A model of the Memex]]<br />
Conceived by Vannevar Bush in the 1940's, the memex continued the same logic as the Bookwheel, in terms of being able to keep track of information and be able to easily access that information while researching. The memex was essentially conceived as a self contained research library contained within a desk. On top of the desk are translucent screens for reading the material being studied. There is also a keyboard and sets of buttons and levers. One part of the desk is for storage of information using microfilm. (Bush 149) The user is able to store books under code numbers for easy access. They can also use the keyboard to skip through pages. (Bush 150). This descendant of the bookwheel was the predecessor of hyperlinks and works using the concept of associative thought. (Bush 148)<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Bush, Vannevar. As We May Think. 1945<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=File:Memex.jpg&diff=6444File:Memex.jpg2008-12-10T01:52:21Z<p>Miksok09: </p>
<hr />
<div></div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6443Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-10T01:49:28Z<p>Miksok09: </p>
<hr />
<div>Ramelli's Bookwheel presents an interesting historical paradox. On the one hand, it demonstrates an immense technological breakthrough that combines engineering techniques (epicylic gears, horizontal axle, shelves that don't drop objects when spun around) that had immense ramifications on later conceptions of how to view and access information (the ability to easily cycle through various texts or windows of information) and incorporating epicyclic gears in more objects besides clocks, to name a couple of examples. On the other hand, it is an example of sheer engineering arrogance on the part of Ramelli. The Bookwheel, as it is presented by Ramelli himself, is a testament to his own self indulgence. Much like a Guitar Virtuoso, like Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen, who uses guitar solos as opportunities to demonstrate the limits of their manual dexterity and speed (often at the expense of good taste), Ramelli’s Bookwheel is an impractical showcase of Ramelli’s ability to implement complex engineering techniques to accomplish tasks that could have been done much more simply and efficiently. In fact, the Bookwheel’s ultimate impracticality is demonstrated by the fact that it was never constructed. Ramelli himself never made any actual specifications for how it should have been made. Elevated by its elegance and innovationa nd damned by its impracticality and excess, Ramelli's Bookwheel is a fascinating example of a medium that was dead simultaneously as it was alive. It was influential without ever actually existing.[[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work with a vertical axle. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines" (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
Excerpt from Ramelli's book, The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli, specifically the description he gives of the Bookwheel:<br />
<br />
<i> “This is a beautiful and ingenious machine, very useful and convenient for anyone who takes pleasure in study, especially those who are indisposed and tormented by gout. For with this machine a man can see and turn through a large number of books without moving from one spot. Moreover, it has another fine convenience in that it occupies very little space in the place where it is set, as anyone of intelligence can clearly see from the drawing.<br />
<br />
This wheel is made in the manner shown, that is, it is constructed so that when the books are laid on its lecterns they never fall or move from the place where they are laid even when the wheel is turned and revolved all the way around. Indeed, they will always remain in the same position and will be displayed to the reader in the same way as they were laid on their small lecterns, without any need to tie or hold them with anything. This wheel may be made as large or small as desired, provided the master craftsman who constructs it observes the proportions of each part of its components. He can do this very easily if he studies carefully all the parts of these small wheels of ours and the other devices in this machine. These parts are made in sizes to proportionate to each other. To give a fuller understanding and comprehension to anyone who wishes to make and operate this machine, I have shown here separately and uncovered all the devices needed for it, so that anyone may understand them better and make use of them for his needs.” </i> (508)<br />
<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Influence==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Memex===<br />
Conceived by Vannevar Bush in the 1940's, the memex continued the same logic as the Bookwheel, in terms of being able to keep track of information and be able to easily access that information while researching. The memex was essentially conceived as a self contained research library contained within a desk. On top of the desk are translucent screens for reading the material being studied. There is also a keyboard and sets of buttons and levers. One part of the desk is for storage of information using microfilm. (Bush 149) The user is able to store books under code numbers for easy access. They can also use the keyboard to skip through pages. (Bush 150). This descendant of the bookwheel was the predecessor of hyperlinks and works using the concept of associative thought. (Bush 148)<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Bush, Vannevar. As We May Think. 1945<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6440Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-10T01:44:17Z<p>Miksok09: /* Memex */</p>
<hr />
<div>Ramelli's Bookwheel presents an interesting historical paradox. On the one hand, it demonstrates an immense technological breakthrough that combines engineering techniques (epicylic gears, horizontal axle, shelves that don't drop objects when spun around) that had immense ramifications on later conceptions of how to view and access information (the ability to easily cycle through various texts or windows of information) and incorporating epicyclic gears in more objects besides clocks, to name a couple of examples. On the other hand, it is an example of sheer engineering arrogance on the part of Ramelli. The Bookwheel, as it is presented by Ramelli himself, is a testament to his own self indulgence. Much like a Guitar Virtuoso, like Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen, who uses guitar solos as opportunities to demonstrate the limits of their manual dexterity and speed (often at the expense of good taste), Ramelli’s Bookwheel is an impractical showcase of Ramelli’s ability to implement complex engineering techniques to accomplish tasks that could have been done much more simply and efficiently. In fact, the Bookwheel’s ultimate impracticality is demonstrated by the fact that it was never constructed. Ramelli himself never made any actual specifications for how it should have been made. [[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work with a vertical axle. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines" (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
Excerpt from Ramelli's book, The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli, specifically the description he gives of the Bookwheel:<br />
<br />
<i> “This is a beautiful and ingenious machine, very useful and convenient for anyone who takes pleasure in study, especially those who are indisposed and tormented by gout. For with this machine a man can see and turn through a large number of books without moving from one spot. Moreover, it has another fine convenience in that it occupies very little space in the place where it is set, as anyone of intelligence can clearly see from the drawing.<br />
<br />
This wheel is made in the manner shown, that is, it is constructed so that when the books are laid on its lecterns they never fall or move from the place where they are laid even when the wheel is turned and revolved all the way around. Indeed, they will always remain in the same position and will be displayed to the reader in the same way as they were laid on their small lecterns, without any need to tie or hold them with anything. This wheel may be made as large or small as desired, provided the master craftsman who constructs it observes the proportions of each part of its components. He can do this very easily if he studies carefully all the parts of these small wheels of ours and the other devices in this machine. These parts are made in sizes to proportionate to each other. To give a fuller understanding and comprehension to anyone who wishes to make and operate this machine, I have shown here separately and uncovered all the devices needed for it, so that anyone may understand them better and make use of them for his needs.” </i> (508)<br />
<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Influence==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Memex===<br />
Conceived by Vannevar Bush in the 1940's, the memex continued the same logic as the Bookwheel, in terms of being able to keep track of information and be able to easily access that information while researching. The memex was essentially conceived as a self contained research library contained within a desk. On top of the desk are translucent screens for reading the material being studied. There is also a keyboard and sets of buttons and levers. One part of the desk is for storage of information using microfilm. (Bush 149) The user is able to store books under code numbers for easy access. They can also use the keyboard to skip through pages. (Bush 150). This descendant of the bookwheel was the predecessor of hyperlinks and works using the concept of associative thought. (Bush 148)<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Bush, Vannevar. As We May Think. 1945<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6439Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-10T01:41:24Z<p>Miksok09: /* Bibliography */</p>
<hr />
<div>Ramelli's Bookwheel presents an interesting historical paradox. On the one hand, it demonstrates an immense technological breakthrough that combines engineering techniques (epicylic gears, horizontal axle, shelves that don't drop objects when spun around) that had immense ramifications on later conceptions of how to view and access information (the ability to easily cycle through various texts or windows of information) and incorporating epicyclic gears in more objects besides clocks, to name a couple of examples. On the other hand, it is an example of sheer engineering arrogance on the part of Ramelli. The Bookwheel, as it is presented by Ramelli himself, is a testament to his own self indulgence. Much like a Guitar Virtuoso, like Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen, who uses guitar solos as opportunities to demonstrate the limits of their manual dexterity and speed (often at the expense of good taste), Ramelli’s Bookwheel is an impractical showcase of Ramelli’s ability to implement complex engineering techniques to accomplish tasks that could have been done much more simply and efficiently. In fact, the Bookwheel’s ultimate impracticality is demonstrated by the fact that it was never constructed. Ramelli himself never made any actual specifications for how it should have been made. [[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work with a vertical axle. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines" (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
Excerpt from Ramelli's book, The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli, specifically the description he gives of the Bookwheel:<br />
<br />
<i> “This is a beautiful and ingenious machine, very useful and convenient for anyone who takes pleasure in study, especially those who are indisposed and tormented by gout. For with this machine a man can see and turn through a large number of books without moving from one spot. Moreover, it has another fine convenience in that it occupies very little space in the place where it is set, as anyone of intelligence can clearly see from the drawing.<br />
<br />
This wheel is made in the manner shown, that is, it is constructed so that when the books are laid on its lecterns they never fall or move from the place where they are laid even when the wheel is turned and revolved all the way around. Indeed, they will always remain in the same position and will be displayed to the reader in the same way as they were laid on their small lecterns, without any need to tie or hold them with anything. This wheel may be made as large or small as desired, provided the master craftsman who constructs it observes the proportions of each part of its components. He can do this very easily if he studies carefully all the parts of these small wheels of ours and the other devices in this machine. These parts are made in sizes to proportionate to each other. To give a fuller understanding and comprehension to anyone who wishes to make and operate this machine, I have shown here separately and uncovered all the devices needed for it, so that anyone may understand them better and make use of them for his needs.” </i> (508)<br />
<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Influence==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Memex===<br />
Conceived by Vannevar Bush in the 1940's, the memex continued the same logic as the Bookwheel, in terms of being able to keeptrack of information that one was using for research. The memex was essentially conceived as a self contained research library contained within a desk. On top of the desk are translucent screens for reading the material being studied. There is also a keyboard and sets of buttons and levers. One part of the desk is for storage of information using microfilm. (Bush 149) The user is able to store books under code numbers for easy access. They can also use the keyboard to skip through pages. (Bush 150). This descendant of the bookwheel was the predecessor of hyperlinks and works using the concept of associative thought. (Bush 148) <br />
<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Bush, Vannevar. As We May Think. 1945<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6438Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-10T01:40:34Z<p>Miksok09: /* Today's Influence */</p>
<hr />
<div>Ramelli's Bookwheel presents an interesting historical paradox. On the one hand, it demonstrates an immense technological breakthrough that combines engineering techniques (epicylic gears, horizontal axle, shelves that don't drop objects when spun around) that had immense ramifications on later conceptions of how to view and access information (the ability to easily cycle through various texts or windows of information) and incorporating epicyclic gears in more objects besides clocks, to name a couple of examples. On the other hand, it is an example of sheer engineering arrogance on the part of Ramelli. The Bookwheel, as it is presented by Ramelli himself, is a testament to his own self indulgence. Much like a Guitar Virtuoso, like Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen, who uses guitar solos as opportunities to demonstrate the limits of their manual dexterity and speed (often at the expense of good taste), Ramelli’s Bookwheel is an impractical showcase of Ramelli’s ability to implement complex engineering techniques to accomplish tasks that could have been done much more simply and efficiently. In fact, the Bookwheel’s ultimate impracticality is demonstrated by the fact that it was never constructed. Ramelli himself never made any actual specifications for how it should have been made. [[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work with a vertical axle. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines" (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
Excerpt from Ramelli's book, The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli, specifically the description he gives of the Bookwheel:<br />
<br />
<i> “This is a beautiful and ingenious machine, very useful and convenient for anyone who takes pleasure in study, especially those who are indisposed and tormented by gout. For with this machine a man can see and turn through a large number of books without moving from one spot. Moreover, it has another fine convenience in that it occupies very little space in the place where it is set, as anyone of intelligence can clearly see from the drawing.<br />
<br />
This wheel is made in the manner shown, that is, it is constructed so that when the books are laid on its lecterns they never fall or move from the place where they are laid even when the wheel is turned and revolved all the way around. Indeed, they will always remain in the same position and will be displayed to the reader in the same way as they were laid on their small lecterns, without any need to tie or hold them with anything. This wheel may be made as large or small as desired, provided the master craftsman who constructs it observes the proportions of each part of its components. He can do this very easily if he studies carefully all the parts of these small wheels of ours and the other devices in this machine. These parts are made in sizes to proportionate to each other. To give a fuller understanding and comprehension to anyone who wishes to make and operate this machine, I have shown here separately and uncovered all the devices needed for it, so that anyone may understand them better and make use of them for his needs.” </i> (508)<br />
<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Influence==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Memex===<br />
Conceived by Vannevar Bush in the 1940's, the memex continued the same logic as the Bookwheel, in terms of being able to keeptrack of information that one was using for research. The memex was essentially conceived as a self contained research library contained within a desk. On top of the desk are translucent screens for reading the material being studied. There is also a keyboard and sets of buttons and levers. One part of the desk is for storage of information using microfilm. (Bush 149) The user is able to store books under code numbers for easy access. They can also use the keyboard to skip through pages. (Bush 150). This descendant of the bookwheel was the predecessor of hyperlinks and works using the concept of associative thought. (Bush 148) <br />
<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6430Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-09T05:44:31Z<p>Miksok09: /* The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves */</p>
<hr />
<div>Ramelli's Bookwheel presents an interesting historical paradox. On the one hand, it demonstrates an immense technological breakthrough that combines engineering techniques (epicylic gears, horizontal axle, shelves that don't drop objects when spun around) that had immense ramifications on later conceptions of how to view and access information (the ability to easily cycle through various texts or windows of information) and incorporating epicyclic gears in more objects besides clocks, to name a couple of examples. On the other hand, it is an example of sheer engineering arrogance on the part of Ramelli. The Bookwheel, as it is presented by Ramelli himself, is a testament to his own self indulgence. Much like a Guitar Virtuoso, like Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen, who uses guitar solos as opportunities to demonstrate the limits of their manual dexterity and speed (often at the expense of good taste), Ramelli’s Bookwheel is an impractical showcase of Ramelli’s ability to implement complex engineering techniques to accomplish tasks that could have been done much more simply and efficiently. In fact, the Bookwheel’s ultimate impracticality is demonstrated by the fact that it was never constructed. Ramelli himself never made any actual specifications for how it should have been made. [[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work with a vertical axle. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines" (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
Excerpt from Ramelli's book, The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli, specifically the description he gives of the Bookwheel:<br />
<br />
<i> “This is a beautiful and ingenious machine, very useful and convenient for anyone who takes pleasure in study, especially those who are indisposed and tormented by gout. For with this machine a man can see and turn through a large number of books without moving from one spot. Moreover, it has another fine convenience in that it occupies very little space in the place where it is set, as anyone of intelligence can clearly see from the drawing.<br />
<br />
This wheel is made in the manner shown, that is, it is constructed so that when the books are laid on its lecterns they never fall or move from the place where they are laid even when the wheel is turned and revolved all the way around. Indeed, they will always remain in the same position and will be displayed to the reader in the same way as they were laid on their small lecterns, without any need to tie or hold them with anything. This wheel may be made as large or small as desired, provided the master craftsman who constructs it observes the proportions of each part of its components. He can do this very easily if he studies carefully all the parts of these small wheels of ours and the other devices in this machine. These parts are made in sizes to proportionate to each other. To give a fuller understanding and comprehension to anyone who wishes to make and operate this machine, I have shown here separately and uncovered all the devices needed for it, so that anyone may understand them better and make use of them for his needs.” </i> (508)<br />
<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6429Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-09T05:40:29Z<p>Miksok09: /* The Da Vinci Connection? */</p>
<hr />
<div>Ramelli's Bookwheel presents an interesting historical paradox. On the one hand, it demonstrates an immense technological breakthrough that combines engineering techniques (epicylic gears, horizontal axle, shelves that don't drop objects when spun around) that had immense ramifications on later conceptions of how to view and access information (the ability to easily cycle through various texts or windows of information) and incorporating epicyclic gears in more objects besides clocks, to name a couple of examples. On the other hand, it is an example of sheer engineering arrogance on the part of Ramelli. The Bookwheel, as it is presented by Ramelli himself, is a testament to his own self indulgence. Much like a Guitar Virtuoso, like Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen, who uses guitar solos as opportunities to demonstrate the limits of their manual dexterity and speed (often at the expense of good taste), Ramelli’s Bookwheel is an impractical showcase of Ramelli’s ability to implement complex engineering techniques to accomplish tasks that could have been done much more simply and efficiently. In fact, the Bookwheel’s ultimate impracticality is demonstrated by the fact that it was never constructed. Ramelli himself never made any actual specifications for how it should have been made. [[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines" (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
Excerpt from Ramelli's book, The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli, specifically the description he gives of the Bookwheel:<br />
<br />
<i> “This is a beautiful and ingenious machine, very useful and convenient for anyone who takes pleasure in study, especially those who are indisposed and tormented by gout. For with this machine a man can see and turn through a large number of books without moving from one spot. Moreover, it has another fine convenience in that it occupies very little space in the place where it is set, as anyone of intelligence can clearly see from the drawing.<br />
<br />
This wheel is made in the manner shown, that is, it is constructed so that when the books are laid on its lecterns they never fall or move from the place where they are laid even when the wheel is turned and revolved all the way around. Indeed, they will always remain in the same position and will be displayed to the reader in the same way as they were laid on their small lecterns, without any need to tie or hold them with anything. This wheel may be made as large or small as desired, provided the master craftsman who constructs it observes the proportions of each part of its components. He can do this very easily if he studies carefully all the parts of these small wheels of ours and the other devices in this machine. These parts are made in sizes to proportionate to each other. To give a fuller understanding and comprehension to anyone who wishes to make and operate this machine, I have shown here separately and uncovered all the devices needed for it, so that anyone may understand them better and make use of them for his needs.” </i> (508)<br />
<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6428Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-09T05:32:01Z<p>Miksok09: /* Design for Showmanship’s Sake? */</p>
<hr />
<div>Ramelli's Bookwheel presents an interesting historical paradox. On the one hand, it demonstrates an immense technological breakthrough that combines engineering techniques (epicylic gears, horizontal axle, shelves that don't drop objects when spun around) that had immense ramifications on later conceptions of how to view and access information (the ability to easily cycle through various texts or windows of information) and incorporating epicyclic gears in more objects besides clocks, to name a couple of examples. On the other hand, it is an example of sheer engineering arrogance on the part of Ramelli. The Bookwheel, as it is presented by Ramelli himself, is a testament to his own self indulgence. Much like a Guitar Virtuoso, like Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen, who uses guitar solos as opportunities to demonstrate the limits of their manual dexterity and speed (often at the expense of good taste), Ramelli’s Bookwheel is an impractical showcase of Ramelli’s ability to implement complex engineering techniques to accomplish tasks that could have been done much more simply and efficiently. In fact, the Bookwheel’s ultimate impracticality is demonstrated by the fact that it was never constructed. Ramelli himself never made any actual specifications for how it should have been made. [[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
Excerpt from Ramelli's book, The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli, specifically the description he gives of the Bookwheel:<br />
<br />
<i> “This is a beautiful and ingenious machine, very useful and convenient for anyone who takes pleasure in study, especially those who are indisposed and tormented by gout. For with this machine a man can see and turn through a large number of books without moving from one spot. Moreover, it has another fine convenience in that it occupies very little space in the place where it is set, as anyone of intelligence can clearly see from the drawing.<br />
<br />
This wheel is made in the manner shown, that is, it is constructed so that when the books are laid on its lecterns they never fall or move from the place where they are laid even when the wheel is turned and revolved all the way around. Indeed, they will always remain in the same position and will be displayed to the reader in the same way as they were laid on their small lecterns, without any need to tie or hold them with anything. This wheel may be made as large or small as desired, provided the master craftsman who constructs it observes the proportions of each part of its components. He can do this very easily if he studies carefully all the parts of these small wheels of ours and the other devices in this machine. These parts are made in sizes to proportionate to each other. To give a fuller understanding and comprehension to anyone who wishes to make and operate this machine, I have shown here separately and uncovered all the devices needed for it, so that anyone may understand them better and make use of them for his needs.” </i> (508)<br />
<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6427Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-09T05:31:11Z<p>Miksok09: /* Design for Showmanship’s Sake? */</p>
<hr />
<div>Ramelli's Bookwheel presents an interesting historical paradox. On the one hand, it demonstrates an immense technological breakthrough that combines engineering techniques (epicylic gears, horizontal axle, shelves that don't drop objects when spun around) that had immense ramifications on later conceptions of how to view and access information (the ability to easily cycle through various texts or windows of information) and incorporating epicyclic gears in more objects besides clocks, to name a couple of examples. On the other hand, it is an example of sheer engineering arrogance on the part of Ramelli. The Bookwheel, as it is presented by Ramelli himself, is a testament to his own self indulgence. Much like a Guitar Virtuoso, like Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen, who uses guitar solos as opportunities to demonstrate the limits of their manual dexterity and speed (often at the expense of good taste), Ramelli’s Bookwheel is an impractical showcase of Ramelli’s ability to implement complex engineering techniques to accomplish tasks that could have been done much more simply and efficiently. In fact, the Bookwheel’s ultimate impracticality is demonstrated by the fact that it was never constructed. Ramelli himself never made any actual specifications for how it should have been made. [[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
Excerpt from Ramelli's book, specifically the description he gives of the Bookwheel:<br />
<br />
<i> “This is a beautiful and ingenious machine, very useful and convenient for anyone who takes pleasure in study, especially those who are indisposed and tormented by gout. For with this machine a man can see and turn through a large number of books without moving from one spot. Moreover, it has another fine convenience in that it occupies very little space in the place where it is set, as anyone of intelligence can clearly see from the drawing.<br />
<br />
This wheel is made in the manner shown, that is, it is constructed so that when the books are laid on its lecterns they never fall or move from the place where they are laid even when the wheel is turned and revolved all the way around. Indeed, they will always remain in the same position and will be displayed to the reader in the same way as they were laid on their small lecterns, without any need to tie or hold them with anything. This wheel may be made as large or small as desired, provided the master craftsman who constructs it observes the proportions of each part of its components. He can do this very easily if he studies carefully all the parts of these small wheels of ours and the other devices in this machine. These parts are made in sizes to proportionate to each other. To give a fuller understanding and comprehension to anyone who wishes to make and operate this machine, I have shown here separately and uncovered all the devices needed for it, so that anyone may understand them better and make use of them for his needs.” </i> (508)<br />
<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6426Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-09T05:30:38Z<p>Miksok09: /* Design for Showmanship’s Sake? */</p>
<hr />
<div>Ramelli's Bookwheel presents an interesting historical paradox. On the one hand, it demonstrates an immense technological breakthrough that combines engineering techniques (epicylic gears, horizontal axle, shelves that don't drop objects when spun around) that had immense ramifications on later conceptions of how to view and access information (the ability to easily cycle through various texts or windows of information) and incorporating epicyclic gears in more objects besides clocks, to name a couple of examples. On the other hand, it is an example of sheer engineering arrogance on the part of Ramelli. The Bookwheel, as it is presented by Ramelli himself, is a testament to his own self indulgence. Much like a Guitar Virtuoso, like Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen, who uses guitar solos as opportunities to demonstrate the limits of their manual dexterity and speed (often at the expense of good taste), Ramelli’s Bookwheel is an impractical showcase of Ramelli’s ability to implement complex engineering techniques to accomplish tasks that could have been done much more simply and efficiently. In fact, the Bookwheel’s ultimate impracticality is demonstrated by the fact that it was never constructed. Ramelli himself never made any actual specifications for how it should have been made. [[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
Excerpt from Ramelli's book, specifically the description he gives of the Bookwheel:<br />
<br />
''''“This is a beautiful and ingenious machine, very useful and convenient for anyone who takes pleasure in study, especially those who are indisposed and tormented by gout. For with this machine a man can see and turn through a large number of books without moving from one spot. Moreover, it has another fine convenience in that it occupies very little space in the place where it is set, as anyone of intelligence can clearly see from the drawing.<br />
<br />
This wheel is made in the manner shown, that is, it is constructed so that when the books are laid on its lecterns they never fall or move from the place where they are laid even when the wheel is turned and revolved all the way around. Indeed, they will always remain in the same position and will be displayed to the reader in the same way as they were laid on their small lecterns, without any need to tie or hold them with anything. This wheel may be made as large or small as desired, provided the master craftsman who constructs it observes the proportions of each part of its components. He can do this very easily if he studies carefully all the parts of these small wheels of ours and the other devices in this machine. These parts are made in sizes to proportionate to each other. To give a fuller understanding and comprehension to anyone who wishes to make and operate this machine, I have shown here separately and uncovered all the devices needed for it, so that anyone may understand them better and make use of them for his needs.”'' (508)''<br />
<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6425Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-09T05:30:22Z<p>Miksok09: /* Design for Showmanship’s Sake? */</p>
<hr />
<div>Ramelli's Bookwheel presents an interesting historical paradox. On the one hand, it demonstrates an immense technological breakthrough that combines engineering techniques (epicylic gears, horizontal axle, shelves that don't drop objects when spun around) that had immense ramifications on later conceptions of how to view and access information (the ability to easily cycle through various texts or windows of information) and incorporating epicyclic gears in more objects besides clocks, to name a couple of examples. On the other hand, it is an example of sheer engineering arrogance on the part of Ramelli. The Bookwheel, as it is presented by Ramelli himself, is a testament to his own self indulgence. Much like a Guitar Virtuoso, like Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen, who uses guitar solos as opportunities to demonstrate the limits of their manual dexterity and speed (often at the expense of good taste), Ramelli’s Bookwheel is an impractical showcase of Ramelli’s ability to implement complex engineering techniques to accomplish tasks that could have been done much more simply and efficiently. In fact, the Bookwheel’s ultimate impracticality is demonstrated by the fact that it was never constructed. Ramelli himself never made any actual specifications for how it should have been made. [[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
Excerpt from Ramelli's book, specifically the description he gives of the Bookwheel:<br />
<br />
''“This is a beautiful and ingenious machine, very useful and convenient for anyone who takes pleasure in study, especially those who are indisposed and tormented by gout. For with this machine a man can see and turn through a large number of books without moving from one spot. Moreover, it has another fine convenience in that it occupies very little space in the place where it is set, as anyone of intelligence can clearly see from the drawing.<br />
<br />
This wheel is made in the manner shown, that is, it is constructed so that when the books are laid on its lecterns they never fall or move from the place where they are laid even when the wheel is turned and revolved all the way around. Indeed, they will always remain in the same position and will be displayed to the reader in the same way as they were laid on their small lecterns, without any need to tie or hold them with anything. This wheel may be made as large or small as desired, provided the master craftsman who constructs it observes the proportions of each part of its components. He can do this very easily if he studies carefully all the parts of these small wheels of ours and the other devices in this machine. These parts are made in sizes to proportionate to each other. To give a fuller understanding and comprehension to anyone who wishes to make and operate this machine, I have shown here separately and uncovered all the devices needed for it, so that anyone may understand them better and make use of them for his needs.”'' (508)<br />
<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6424Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-09T05:30:03Z<p>Miksok09: /* Design for Showmanship’s Sake? */</p>
<hr />
<div>Ramelli's Bookwheel presents an interesting historical paradox. On the one hand, it demonstrates an immense technological breakthrough that combines engineering techniques (epicylic gears, horizontal axle, shelves that don't drop objects when spun around) that had immense ramifications on later conceptions of how to view and access information (the ability to easily cycle through various texts or windows of information) and incorporating epicyclic gears in more objects besides clocks, to name a couple of examples. On the other hand, it is an example of sheer engineering arrogance on the part of Ramelli. The Bookwheel, as it is presented by Ramelli himself, is a testament to his own self indulgence. Much like a Guitar Virtuoso, like Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen, who uses guitar solos as opportunities to demonstrate the limits of their manual dexterity and speed (often at the expense of good taste), Ramelli’s Bookwheel is an impractical showcase of Ramelli’s ability to implement complex engineering techniques to accomplish tasks that could have been done much more simply and efficiently. In fact, the Bookwheel’s ultimate impracticality is demonstrated by the fact that it was never constructed. Ramelli himself never made any actual specifications for how it should have been made. [[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
Excerpt from Ramelli's book, specifically the description he gives of the Bookwheel:<br />
<br />
“This is a beautiful and ingenious machine, very useful and convenient for anyone who takes pleasure in study, especially those who are indisposed and tormented by gout. For with this machine a man can see and turn through a large number of books without moving from one spot. Moreover, it has another fine convenience in that it occupies very little space in the place where it is set, as anyone of intelligence can clearly see from the drawing.<br />
<br />
This wheel is made in the manner shown, that is, it is constructed so that when the books are laid on its lecterns they never fall or move from the place where they are laid even when the wheel is turned and revolved all the way around. Indeed, they will always remain in the same position and will be displayed to the reader in the same way as they were laid on their small lecterns, without any need to tie or hold them with anything. This wheel may be made as large or small as desired, provided the master craftsman who constructs it observes the proportions of each part of its components. He can do this very easily if he studies carefully all the parts of these small wheels of ours and the other devices in this machine. These parts are made in sizes to proportionate to each other. To give a fuller understanding and comprehension to anyone who wishes to make and operate this machine, I have shown here separately and uncovered all the devices needed for it, so that anyone may understand them better and make use of them for his needs.” (508)<br />
<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6423Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-09T04:16:56Z<p>Miksok09: </p>
<hr />
<div>Ramelli's Bookwheel presents an interesting historical paradox. On the one hand, it demonstrates an immense technological breakthrough that combines engineering techniques (epicylic gears, horizontal axle, shelves that don't drop objects when spun around) that had immense ramifications on later conceptions of how to view and access information (the ability to easily cycle through various texts or windows of information) and incorporating epicyclic gears in more objects besides clocks, to name a couple of examples. On the other hand, it is an example of sheer engineering arrogance on the part of Ramelli. The Bookwheel, as it is presented by Ramelli himself, is a testament to his own self indulgence. Much like a Guitar Virtuoso, like Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen, who uses guitar solos as opportunities to demonstrate the limits of their manual dexterity and speed (often at the expense of good taste), Ramelli’s Bookwheel is an impractical showcase of Ramelli’s ability to implement complex engineering techniques to accomplish tasks that could have been done much more simply and efficiently. In fact, the Bookwheel’s ultimate impracticality is demonstrated by the fact that it was never constructed. Ramelli himself never made any actual specifications for how it should have been made. [[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6422Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-09T04:13:40Z<p>Miksok09: </p>
<hr />
<div>Ramelli's Book wheel presents an interesting historical paradox. On the one hand, it demonstrates an immense technological breakthrough that combines engineering techniques (epicylic gears, horizontal axle, shelves that don't drop objects when spun around) that had immense ramifications on later conceptions of how to view and access information (the ability to easily cycle through various texts or windows of information) and incorporating epicyclic gears in more objects besides clocks, to name a couple of examples. On the other hand, it is an example of sheer engineering arrogance on the part of Ramelli. The Bookwheel, as it is presented by Ramelli himself, is a testament to his own self indulgence. Much like a Guitar Virtuoso, like Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen, who uses guitar solos as opportunities to demonstrate the limits of their manual dexterity and speed (often at the expense of good taste), Ramelli’s Bookwheel is an impractical showcase of Ramelli’s ability to implement complex engineering techniques to accomplish tasks that could have been done much more simply and efficiently. In fact, the Bookwheel’s ultimate impracticality is demonstrated by the fact that it was never constructed. Ramelli himself never made any actual specifications for how it should have been made. [[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6421Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-09T04:13:30Z<p>Miksok09: /* Biography */</p>
<hr />
<div>Ramelli's Book wheel presents an interesting historical paradox. On the one hand, it demonstrates an immense technological breakthrough that combines engineering techniques (epicylic gears, horizontal axle, shelves that don't drop objects when spun around) that had immense ramifications on later conceptions of how to view and access information (the ability to easily cycle through various texts or windows of information) and incorporating epicyclic gears in more objects besides clocks, to name a couple of examples. On the other hand, it is an example of sheer engineering arrogance on the part of Ramelli. The Bookwheel, as it is presented by Ramelli himself, is a testament to his own self indulgence. Much like a Guitar Virtuoso, like Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen, who uses guitar solos as opportunities to demonstrate the limits of their manual dexterity and speed (often at the expense of good taste), Ramelli’s Bookwheel is an impractical showcase of Ramelli’s ability to implement complex engineering techniques to accomplish tasks that could have been done much more simply and efficiently. In fact, the Bookwheel’s ultimate impracticality is demonstrated by the fact that it was never constructed. Ramelli himself never made any actual specifications for how it should have been made. <br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6420Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-09T04:13:18Z<p>Miksok09: /* The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli */</p>
<hr />
<div>Ramelli's Book wheel presents an interesting historical paradox. On the one hand, it demonstrates an immense technological breakthrough that combines engineering techniques (epicylic gears, horizontal axle, shelves that don't drop objects when spun around) that had immense ramifications on later conceptions of how to view and access information (the ability to easily cycle through various texts or windows of information) and incorporating epicyclic gears in more objects besides clocks, to name a couple of examples. On the other hand, it is an example of sheer engineering arrogance on the part of Ramelli. The Bookwheel, as it is presented by Ramelli himself, is a testament to his own self indulgence. Much like a Guitar Virtuoso, like Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen, who uses guitar solos as opportunities to demonstrate the limits of their manual dexterity and speed (often at the expense of good taste), Ramelli’s Bookwheel is an impractical showcase of Ramelli’s ability to implement complex engineering techniques to accomplish tasks that could have been done much more simply and efficiently. In fact, the Bookwheel’s ultimate impracticality is demonstrated by the fact that it was never constructed. Ramelli himself never made any actual specifications for how it should have been made. <br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
[[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6419Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-09T04:13:04Z<p>Miksok09: /* The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli */</p>
<hr />
<div>Ramelli's Book wheel presents an interesting historical paradox. On the one hand, it demonstrates an immense technological breakthrough that combines engineering techniques (epicylic gears, horizontal axle, shelves that don't drop objects when spun around) that had immense ramifications on later conceptions of how to view and access information (the ability to easily cycle through various texts or windows of information) and incorporating epicyclic gears in more objects besides clocks, to name a couple of examples. On the other hand, it is an example of sheer engineering arrogance on the part of Ramelli. The Bookwheel, as it is presented by Ramelli himself, is a testament to his own self indulgence. Much like a Guitar Virtuoso, like Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen, who uses guitar solos as opportunities to demonstrate the limits of their manual dexterity and speed (often at the expense of good taste), Ramelli’s Bookwheel is an impractical showcase of Ramelli’s ability to implement complex engineering techniques to accomplish tasks that could have been done much more simply and efficiently. In fact, the Bookwheel’s ultimate impracticality is demonstrated by the fact that it was never constructed. Ramelli himself never made any actual specifications for how it should have been made. <br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
[[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6418Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-09T04:12:44Z<p>Miksok09: </p>
<hr />
<div>Ramelli's Book wheel presents an interesting historical paradox. On the one hand, it demonstrates an immense technological breakthrough that combines engineering techniques (epicylic gears, horizontal axle, shelves that don't drop objects when spun around) that had immense ramifications on later conceptions of how to view and access information (the ability to easily cycle through various texts or windows of information) and incorporating epicyclic gears in more objects besides clocks, to name a couple of examples. On the other hand, it is an example of sheer engineering arrogance on the part of Ramelli. The Bookwheel, as it is presented by Ramelli himself, is a testament to his own self indulgence. Much like a Guitar Virtuoso, like Jimi Hendrix or Yngwie Malmsteen, who uses guitar solos as opportunities to demonstrate the limits of their manual dexterity and speed (often at the expense of good taste), Ramelli’s Bookwheel is an impractical showcase of Ramelli’s ability to implement complex engineering techniques to accomplish tasks that could have been done much more simply and efficiently. In fact, the Bookwheel’s ultimate impracticality is demonstrated by the fact that it was never constructed. Ramelli himself never made any actual specifications for how it should have been made. <br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
[[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6417Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-09T03:28:50Z<p>Miksok09: /* Bibliography */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
[[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Hall, Bert S. and Ramelli, Agostino. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6351Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T22:19:36Z<p>Miksok09: /* Design for Showmanship’s Sake? */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
[[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during a solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Bert S. Hall and Agostino Ramelli. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6350Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T22:18:21Z<p>Miksok09: /* Bibliography */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
[[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Bert S. Hall and Agostino Ramelli. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Needham, Joseph and Ling, Wang. Science and Civilization in China. Cambridge, 1965. <br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6348Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T22:16:38Z<p>Miksok09: /* Bibliography */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
[[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
*Aiken, John, William Enfield, Nicholson, Thomas Morgan, and William Johnston. General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions, and Professions, Arranged According to Alphabetical Order. G.G. and J. Robinson, 1807.<br />
<br />
*Bert S. Hall and Agostino Ramelli. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
*Clark, John Willis. The Care of Books. Cambridge, 1909. P. 307, fig. 148<br />
<br />
*Gille, Bertrand. Engineers of the Renaissance. 1966. 199-200.<br />
<br />
*Gnudi, Martha T., trans. The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli (1588). Great Britain: Johns Hopkins University, 1976.<br />
<br />
*Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605<br />
<br />
*Platts, John. A new universal biography, chronologically arranged; containing interesting accounts, critical accounts, critical and historical, of the lives and characters, labours and actions, of eminent persons, in all ages and countries, conditions and professions,. Sherwood, Jones, and Co., 1826.<br />
<br />
*Procida Jr., William P. MAC Screenshot. 3 Dec. 2008.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Main_Page&diff=6345Main Page2008-12-03T22:12:49Z<p>Miksok09: /* Dead Media Dossiers */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''Media Archaeology'''<br />
<br />
[http://cultureandcommunication.org/galloway/2008spr-MediaArchaeology.html Media Archaeology course syllabus] (Spring 2008) <br />
<br />
Over the last decade or so, scholars in several disciplines have embarked on a series of media-archaeological excavations, sifting through the layers of early and obsolete practices and technologies of communication. The archaeological metaphor evokes both the desire to recover material traces of the past and the imperative to situate those traces in their social, cultural, and political contexts--while always watching our steps. This graduate seminar will examine some of the most important contributions to the field of media archaeology.<br />
<br />
The course follows a research studio format in which students undertake archaeological projects of their own in the area of forgotten, obsolete, or otherwise "dead" media technologies. This might include papyrus, Athanasius Kircher's seventeenth-century magic lantern, or the common slide projector, discontinued by Kodak in 2004. Our goal is to introduce students to the skills and resources necessary for producing rigorous research on such obsolete and obscure media. It will include an exposure to scholarship in media archaeology; an intensive introduction to research methods; instruction on the localization and utilization of word, image, and sound archives; and an emphasis on restoring media artifacts to their proper social and cultural context. The course stems from the premise that media archaeology is best undertaken, like any archaeological project, collaboratively. Hence the course follows a research studio model commonly used in disciplines such as architecture or design.<br />
<br />
= Dead Media Dossiers = <br />
<br />
{| cellpadding="0" cellspacing="20"<br />
<br />
<br />
||<br />
<br />
[[3D Television]]<br />
<br />
[[8-track Tape]]<br />
<br />
[[Analog/Digital Transition]]<br />
<br />
[[Autopen]]<br />
<br />
[[BeOS]]<br />
<br />
[[Camera Lucida]]<br />
<br />
[[Camera Obscura]]<br />
<br />
[[Car Phone]]<br />
<br />
[[Chirograph (Cyrograph)]]<br />
<br />
[[Civil Defense Siren]]<br />
<br />
[[Credit Card Imprinter]]<br />
<br />
[[Cyanotype (Architectural)]]<br />
<br />
[[Daguerreotype]]<br />
<br />
[[Discipline]]<br />
<br />
[[Data Visualization and Defunct Visual Metaphors]]<br />
<br />
[[Dumbwaiter]]<br />
<br />
[[Dymaxion House]]<br />
<br />
[[Ear Trumpet]]<br />
<br />
[[Electric Pen]]<br />
<br />
[[Enigma machine]]<br />
<br />
[[Erasure]]<br />
<br />
[[Experiential Typewriter]]<br />
<br />
[[Glass Harmonica]]<br />
<br />
[[HD-DVD]]<br />
<br />
[[Hierarchy]]<br />
<br />
[[Hip Pocket Records]]<br />
<br />
||<br />
<br />
[[Hollerith Punch Card]]<br />
<br />
[[Homing Pigeons]]<br />
<br />
[[Hotel Annunciator]]<br />
<br />
[[Kinora]]<br />
<br />
[[Magic Lantern]]<br />
<br />
[[Marginalia]]<br />
<br />
[[Marine Chronometer]]<br />
<br />
[[The Market]]<br />
<br />
[[Medieval Mariner's Compass]]<br />
<br />
[[Mechanical Television]]<br />
<br />
[[Megalethoscope]]<br />
<br />
[[MiniDisc]]<br />
<br />
[[Minitel]]<br />
<br />
[[Mood Ring]]<br />
<br />
[[Movable Type]]<br />
<br />
[[Mystical Writing Pad]]<br />
<br />
[[Nansen Passport]]<br />
<br />
[[Newspaper via Radio Facsimile]]<br />
<br />
[[NeXT Step]]<br />
<br />
[[Nickelodeon]]<br />
<br />
[[Notificator]]<br />
<br />
[[Old Color Spaces]]<br />
<br />
[[Panorama]]<br />
<br />
[[Parrots & Birds as Symbols of Surveillance]]<br />
<br />
[[Peruvian Quipu]]<br />
<br />
[[Phonograph Doll]]<br />
<br />
[[Photographic Gun]]<br />
<br />
||<br />
<br />
[[Picturephone]]<br />
<br />
[[Player Piano]]<br />
<br />
[[Pneumatic Tubes]]<br />
<br />
[[Polaroid Camera]]<br />
<br />
[[Political Effigies]]<br />
<br />
[[Ramelli's Bookwheel]]<br />
<br />
[[Roentgen Ray Tube]]<br />
<br />
[[Secretarial Letter Dictation]]<br />
<br />
[[Semaphore Telegraph]]<br />
<br />
[[Shorthand]]<br />
<br />
[[Smell Organ]]<br />
<br />
[[Smoke Signals]]<br />
<br />
[[Spirit Duplicator]]<br />
<br />
[[Spirit Photography]]<br />
<br />
[[Standardization]]<br />
<br />
[[Steenbeck]]<br />
<br />
[[Stereoscope]]<br />
<br />
[[Stock Ticker Machine]]<br />
<br />
[[Talking Book]]<br />
<br />
[[Talking View-Master]]<br />
<br />
[[Telautograph]]<br />
<br />
[[Telharmonium]]<br />
<br />
[[Typewriter]]<br />
<br />
[[The Victrola]]<br />
<br />
[[Virtual boy]]<br />
<br />
[[Wire Recording]]<br />
<br />
[[Wax Cylinder]]<br />
<br />
[[Zuse palimpsest]]<br />
<br />
|}<br />
<br />
= Critical Techniques =<br />
<br />
As a group we are developing a series of techniques that help facilitate the analysis of dead media artifacts. These questions are provisional and may not be appropriate for all artifacts. They are meant as tools for critical exploration. <br />
<br />
* "[[Pops and hisses]]" -- Pops and hisses refers to the background noise often heard on phonograph recordings resulting from inconsistencies in the underlying material. Research Question: What are the unavoidable, obtrusive material qualities of the substrate itself that enter into the medium's overall system of representation? <br />
<br />
* [[Skeuomorph, or the "click"]] -- Single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras make a clicking sound when taking a picture. The click results from a mechanical operation: an internal mirror moves aside and the shutter opens, exposing the film to light. Many of today's digital cameras have no shutter and no internal mirror, yet they still simulate the click using a digital audio sample. Why? Research Question: What qualities of the artifact are unnecessary at the material level but are still nevertheless necessary at the semiotic level? Where is the "click"? <br />
<br />
* Remediation -- Like the "click," remediation refers to the process through which older media formats are simulated, extended, coopted, modified, tamed, or rendered obsolete by new media formats. Research Questions: What came before this artifact? What newer medium came after? What traits are lost or preserved in the historical transformation from one system to another? <br />
<br />
* "Functional nonsense" -- Functional nonsense refers to actual material qualities of the medium that are necessary for the medium to function correctly but which have no semantic or semiotic purpose. A good illustration is the [[Chirograph (Cyrograph)|chirograph]] which requires that some word -- by custom it was often the word "chirograph" -- be inscribed across the midsection of a document. The word is then cut in half, certifying and authenticating the two pieces. The word "chirograph" is therefore highly functional, but semantically irrelevant. Research Question: What qualities of the artifact are unnecessary at the semiotic or semantic level but are nevertheless crucial to its functioning correctly?<br />
<br />
* Encoding -- Research Question: What symbolic system is used in the medium to encode and decode messages? <br />
<br />
* Digital versus analog -- Research Questions: What parts of the artifact conform to a model of representation using discrete sample points, and what parts use a continuously variable input? Are the two hybridized and if so how? <br />
<br />
* The "obvious" -- In every medium there are techniques and design conventions that result from the prevalent tendencies of the historical situation. For example, the problem of writing and reproduction in the modern period was "solved" using mechanical levers, metal type, presses and inks, while the problem of writing and reproduction in the late twentieth century was solved using an entirely different set of techniques: digital code, microchips, and LCDs. Research Question: What aspects of the medium result from large scale paradigms appropriate to the historical context? <br />
<br />
* The "arbitrary" -- Every medium also contains entirely unmotivated and unexplainable traits. Western writing runs left to right, top to bottom. But this convention is arbitrary. Research Question: What specific aspects of the medium have no material or semiotic reason for being? <br />
<br />
* Formal prohibitions/affordances -- Communications media often put clear limitations on where and how messages can originate and be received. Radio began as a two-way medium, but evolved into a broadcast medium. Research Questions: Who can read in this medium? Who can write in this medium? Is there an asymmetrical relationship between those who can send and those who can receive? What types of values are embedded in the affordances of the technology?<br />
<br />
* The "Hack" -- Given a set of formal prohibitions, do there exist alternate practices of use that change the intended outcome of the medium? For example, DJs "hack" record players when they "spin" records, using their hands to overcome the formal prohibitions of the record player, resulting in the advent of a new style of music. [[Hacking this assignment]]. [TODO: add to this -- mention improvisation, play.]<br />
<br />
* [[The "Cake Mix" effect]] -- Research Questions: What part of the process is streamlined, mechanized, or determined in advance, and what part of the process must be performed by the user? For example, Karaoke machines mechanize the instrumental part of a song, and the user performs the vocals. [TODO: add to this] Prior to the use of tape as a means of recording, the composer had to work with a finite set of possibilities and sounds. With the advent of tape, the sonic substance became malleable, and cuttable. What effect does the mechanized portion of the process have on the emergence of the new? What effect does the streamlined portion of the process have on the overall mode of representation?<br />
<br />
* [[The "Reversal"]] -- Is there a point where maximum efficiency within a medium forces it into obsolescence? Mapmaking was ridden with errors due to difficulties in measuring longitude, but once the Marine Chronometer made it possible to plot the exact coordinates of a given position in space, and the grid mapped upon geographic representations was perfected, it was no longer necessary to use a map for navigation since a course could be plotted without any geographic references. (Additional question/theory: Is a "sampling" medium capable of reversal, or is it only threatened by upgraded mediums that are more efficient? Is the Reversal only possible in a "programming" scenario?)<br />
<br />
* [[The "Break Boundary"]] -- Research Questions: Is there a point beyond which "the system generated by the artifact suddenly changes into another or passes some point of no return in its dynamic processes?" Or what specific reconfigurations in the spatio-temporal framework surrounding the media environment of the artifact might "break" the dynamics which it was attended to address? [DO OTHERS AGREE THIS IS WORTH ADDRESSING? a suggestion via McLuhan that might be worth talking about - perhaps an attribute that doesn't apply to the material framework of the object, but maybe one that is crucial in establishing the artifact's relevance and obsolescence?]<br />
<br />
* "Bad Weather" (non-diegetic influences?) -- The [[Semaphore Telegraph]] was unable to operate in fog. External inputs often influence the proper functioning of media. Research Questions: What external events exist that might cause the medium to operate in flawed or unexpected ways? Does the medium try to shield itself from the outside world? If so, how does this change the format in question?<br />
<br />
* "Guts" -- Some dead media, like the [[NeXT Step]], hide their internal guts inside a [[black box]]. Others like the [[Kinora]] expose their inner workings for all to see. The way in which a media object alternately reveals or hides its insides greatly influences how it is understood, used, and analyzed. Research Questions: Does the medium in question hide or reveal its own internal functioning? If the guts are displayed, does this "technologize" the medium or change it in other ways? If the guts are hidden, does this reify or fetishize the object in question?<br />
<br />
* "Iris vs. Hermes" -- Most media can be charted on a continuum between Iris and Hermes. Both Iris and Hermes were Greek gods of communication; Iris was a messenger for Hera, and Hermes for Zeus. Yet while Hermes facilitated communication by accompanying messages, guiding trade, appearing alongside travelers and otherwise chaperoning interconnections between people, Iris relayed messages by immanently internalizing them in the physically of her own body. For Iris, the medium is the message. Hermes however was more of a letter carrier, keeping the outer envelop distinct from the inner content of the message. Research Questions: Does the medium maintain a separation between the symbolic layer of the medium and the material substrate? Or does the physicality of the medium itself mean something without recourse to surface inscriptions?<br />
<br />
* [["The Sample vs. the Program"]] (Witnessing vs Interpreting / Feeling vs Perceiving) -- Some media can be inscribed by simply being turned on and allowed to feel, or sample the content they remediate - yet other media generate complete nonsense unless a highly specialized and refined language code or aesthetic has been mastered and applied in the process of inscription. Research Questions: Does the medium demand a great deal of analysis before the act of inscription, or does it appropriate material that can be processed and interpreted later? Does the noise of the medium illustrate a condition external to the user's actions (ie background noise) or does the noise illustrate imperfect execution of a symbolic system (misspellings, syntactical errors, grammatical nonsense, freudian slips etc.)? Does the medium demand a complex understanding of the given content (embodying an informational cultural bias) or does it appear to witness with an inhuman objectivity?<br />
<br />
* [[Mediatic Etymology]] - Proposes a methodology for theorizing the existence of dead media by inverting the process of remediation.<br />
<br />
* [[Where do media go to die?]] -- Some artifacts or representational practices may no longer perform a useful function or satisfy popular needs in the current media ecology, but they don't necessarily disappear. Research question: What constitutes a/the moment of death? Is the artifact or representational practice obsolete (outmoded or inoperable) or outright extinct?<br />
<br />
* "Luminescence" -- [TO DO - BEN?]<br />
<br />
* "Ideologies of adoption" -- [TO DO - ALEX?]<br />
<br />
* "Text / Paratext" -- [TO DO]<br />
<br />
= Background =<br />
<br />
Some entries in the archive are drawn from the [http://www.deadmedia.org Dead Media Project], an email list devoted to the topic started by [http://www.well.com/conf/mirrorshades Bruce Sterling] and more recently moderated by Tom Jennings. The email list is now dead.<br />
<br />
= Links = <br />
<br />
[http://www.experimentaljetset.nl/lostformats/01.html Lost formats] <br />
<br />
= Special Pages =<br />
<br />
[[:Special:Upload|Upload a File]]<br />
<br />
[[:Special:Allpages|All Pages]]<br />
<br />
[[:Special:Imagelist|All Uploaded Files]]</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6343Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T21:12:31Z<p>Miksok09: /* Dual Screens */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
[[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>, where Batman has a large amount of computer screens to form a large image or virtual workspace.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
Bert S. Hall and Agostino Ramelli. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=File:Ramelli2.jpg&diff=6342File:Ramelli2.jpg2008-12-03T21:11:35Z<p>Miksok09: </p>
<hr />
<div></div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=File:Ramell2.jpg&diff=6341File:Ramell2.jpg2008-12-03T21:09:03Z<p>Miksok09: </p>
<hr />
<div></div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6337Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T20:26:40Z<p>Miksok09: /* The Da Vinci Connection? */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
[[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
===Design for Showmanship’s Sake?===<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
Bert S. Hall and Agostino Ramelli. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6336Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T20:26:11Z<p>Miksok09: </p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
[[Image:ramelli2.jpg|thumb|right| Ramelli's Bookwheel (Gnudi)]]<br />
<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
Design for Showmanship’s Sake?<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
Bert S. Hall and Agostino Ramelli. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400<br />
<br />
Ladislao Reti. Leonardo and Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 13, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 577-605</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6333Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T20:23:44Z<p>Miksok09: </p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
[[Image:ramelli.jpg|thumb|left| Ramelli (Gnudi]]<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
Design for Showmanship’s Sake?<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)<br />
=Bibliography=<br />
<br />
Bert S. Hall and Agostino Ramelli. A Revolving Bookcase by Agostino Ramelli. Technology and Culture, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Jul., 1970), pp. 389-400</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6329Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T20:19:14Z<p>Miksok09: /* The Da Vinci Connection? */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
Design for Showmanship’s Sake?<br />
<br />
One of the main complaints made about Ramelli is that he made his devices, like the bookwheel, more complex than they needed to be. He would utilize “ gears to perform even such tasks as converting rotary to reciprocal motion, where a simple crankshaft would do” (Hall 392). There was an inherent artistic arrogance involved in both his design and in his presentation of it. He would speak about the bookwheel in his own book in hyperbolic terms as well as delving into a condescending tone towards the reader. This seems to be typical for him and other authors of “Theater of Machines” type books. The goal was to show off the ‘virtuosity’ of their engineering skill (much like a guitarist would during solo) in terms of their ability to manipulate systems to accomplish extraordinary feats. (Hall 392) Ramelli did not even include any specific measurements in his design. This isn’t to suggest that Ramelli was untalented and simply full of outlandish ideas. That wasn’t the case. But to an extent, his ego came to the surface more often than the rational practical ability to help humanity.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6327Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T20:08:18Z<p>Miksok09: /* Epicyclic gears */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6326Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T20:06:54Z<p>Miksok09: /* Ramelli’s Design: */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears===<br />
One of the more rather ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
===The Da Vinci Connection?===<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581).<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6325Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T20:06:16Z<p>Miksok09: /* Today's Influence */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design:==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves:===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears:===<br />
One of the more rather ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
The Da Vinci Connection?:<br />
<br />
Many parallels have been drawn between the work of Ramelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. It isn’t that far of a leap considering that the two were both interested in engineering and Da Vinci did have a major impact on those who came after him. Scholars have made a particular connection between them because of their shared interest in epicycle gear trains. <br />
<br />
Leonardo had experimented with the notion of utilizing the epicycle gear system for some unknown device. As Ladislao Reti points out, Leanardo’s design is very similar to the one Ramelli intended to use for his bookwheel. The difference was that Da Vinci’s outer gears did not match the central gear in terms of the amount of teeth they had. Also, unlike Ramelli, Da Vinci did not have a specific device in mind as he was making this model. He was more interested in the actual mechanism rather than a specific use for it. (Reti 578) Da Vinci also was considering a manner in which to have the elements of the gear train maintain at a constant angle relative to the floor. (Reti 579) <br />
<br />
However, Ramelli’s use of the Epicyclic gear system does not necessarily mean that he was copying or deriving his invention from Da Vinci. It is possible that the two were both just studying the knowledge that had been accumulating since ancient times. (Reti 580) <br />
<br />
One could go even further and say that Ramelli was neither completely original in his ideas nor was he merely copying the work of those who came before him. He was, as Reti pointed out, incorporating “not only his own ideas and fantasies but also the sound technical tradition of his time and the experience and dreams of his predecessors in the invention of machines (581). <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6323Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T19:56:09Z<p>Miksok09: /* The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves: */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design:==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves:===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|Another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears:===<br />
One of the more rather ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6322Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T19:55:35Z<p>Miksok09: /* The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves: */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design:==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves:===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|right|another version of the bookwheel (Hall)]]<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears:===<br />
One of the more rather ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6321Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T19:54:21Z<p>Miksok09: /* Epicyclic gears: */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design:==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves:===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears:===<br />
One of the more rather ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left| Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6320Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T19:54:05Z<p>Miksok09: /* Epicyclic gears: */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design:==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves:===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears:===<br />
One of the more rather ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheel m turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left Epicyclic gears (Reti)]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6318Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T19:52:46Z<p>Miksok09: /* Computer Screen Viewing */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design:==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves:===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears:===<br />
One of the more rather ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheelm turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]<br />
<br />
===Dual Screens===<br />
The information technology and need for a vast view of things has called for computers to be capable of being set up with multiple screens. Some people have two, three, and sometimes even four screens paneled side by side to give the user a wider, more vast view of their computer activities. More extreme examples of multi-monitor set-ups can be seen in fictional settings such as <i>The Dark Knight</i>.<br />
<br />
===Car Transmissions===<br />
Ramelli's epicyclic gear train used in his bookwheel to keep the books in place while rotating have been used in modern engineering. "The trasnmission gears of the Model T Ford automobile, for example, were epicyclic." (Gnudi 558)</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6317Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T19:52:31Z<p>Miksok09: /* Computer Screen Viewing */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design:==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves:===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears:===<br />
One of the more rather ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheelm turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6316Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T19:52:17Z<p>Miksok09: </p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
<br />
[[Image:Bookwheel.jpg|thumb|left]]<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design:==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves:===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears:===<br />
One of the more rather ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheelm turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=File:Bookwheel.jpg&diff=6315File:Bookwheel.jpg2008-12-03T19:51:04Z<p>Miksok09: An example of a later bookwheel.</p>
<hr />
<div>An example of a later bookwheel.</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6314Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T19:47:38Z<p>Miksok09: /* Epicyclic gears: */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design:==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves:===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears:===<br />
One of the more rather ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheelm turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. . It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology or from a clock that he might have come across, which featured the system, and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394) Then there is also the importance of Ramelli’s predecessor, Leonardo Da Vinci.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6300Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T19:33:04Z<p>Miksok09: /* Computer Screen Viewing */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design:==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves:===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears:===<br />
One of the more rather ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheelm turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394)<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot.png|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6292Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T19:25:58Z<p>Miksok09: /* The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves: */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design:==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves:===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
===Epicyclic gears:===<br />
One of the more rather ingenious parts of the construction of the wheel was Ramelli’s incorporation of Epicyclic gears. This helped keep the angles of each of the shelves constant with respect to the floor, so that any book resting on a shelf would not fall off as one spinned the device. (Hall 392) The basic concept behind epicyclic gears is that it consists of several jagged edged gears (with “teeth”) that stem from a central position. The gears vary in radius. The motions of the gears can be described by a caption written for a prototype of a model of Dante Gnudi in folio 112r of Codex Madrid I.:<br />
<br />
“Wheel a turns to the right. And b to the left, and c also to the right, wheelm turns to the left, that is, opposite to a, because even if the axle of a is square, it is round inside wheel m. Wheel b has no axle, while one arm of the axle of wheel m rotates and turns b and c around a. the last revolves in the direction opposite to b.” <br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left]]<br />
<br />
Although seemingly convoluted, the epicyclic gear model was capable of achieving the feat of maintaining the angles of the bookshelves on Ramelli’s wheel at a constant 45 degree angle in relation to the floor. This might not have been possible with a simpler axle design. <br />
<br />
It is fascinating that he used this particular gear system, which featured a set of Idler gears that were needed to reverse the rotation of the outer set of gears. (Hall 396) This particular particular type of gearing had existed in ancient times, for example in the Antikythera machine, which was, if the reconstruction of it was accurate, an ancient greek predecessor to the computer which incorporated this method of using gears in parallel motion. It was also featured in 14th century geared astrolabes. It is, however, not clear how Ramelli came into contact with this particular principle of gear design. Some scholars believe that he adapted it from horology and then applied it to his book wheel. (Hall 394)<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6290Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T19:25:00Z<p>Miksok09: /* The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves: */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design:==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves:===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
<br />
[[Image:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg|thumb|left]]<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=File:Screenshot.png&diff=6288File:Screenshot.png2008-12-03T19:24:41Z<p>Miksok09: </p>
<hr />
<div></div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=File:Snapshot_2008-12-03_14-15-54.jpg&diff=6286File:Snapshot 2008-12-03 14-15-54.jpg2008-12-03T19:22:26Z<p>Miksok09: A diagram of Epicyclic gears from fol. 112r of Codex Madrid</p>
<hr />
<div>A diagram of Epicyclic gears from fol. 112r of Codex Madrid</div>Miksok09http://cultureandcommunication.org/deadmedia/index.php?title=Ramelli%27s_Bookwheel&diff=6279Ramelli's Bookwheel2008-12-03T19:16:29Z<p>Miksok09: /* Computer Screen Viewing */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Biography==<br />
Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up amidst war and political turmoil. Wars for independence as well as wars for position and power occurred all around him. Growing up, he was trained in the arts of war and mathematics by warlord Gian Giacomo de’ Medici. He soon developed into a key military engineer in the Italian military where he provided his expertise in fortification and machinery used for assaulting enemy cities. He was involved in the battles and was even captured by an opposing army once. The French King Henry III hired Ramelli briefly. “The Great Engineer”, as he was called, served the French magistrate until the death of Henry III. Coming back to work for his native Italy for some time, died somewhere in his late 70s. Although the date of his death is unknown, property documents with his signatures have been found dated as late as August of 1608, although it is not believed that he lived for terribly long after that. (Gnudi 11-19; Gille 199-200)<br />
==The Various and Ingenious Machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli==<br />
Agostino Ramelli wrote and published “The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli” in 1588 in both French and Italian. Printed on 195 silver plates, Ramelli’s book illustrated inventions and mechanisms for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Noted for originality, these inventions are also known for being virtually unrealistic. Other inventors of this time care to show off their talents in creative engineering. “”Besson, Ramelli, and a few others have given us machines invented by them on paper, but few of them can be at all effective,” said Salomon de Caus, an early seventeenth-century engineer (Gille 199). They emphasized play and amusement. Another problem with the book is that it made it difficult for anyone to reproduce any of the actual machines or wheels/pulleys. There were no instructions on how to build these inventions nor were their any sorts of measurements or lists of materials included. One would have to study the sketch shown and the bit of text Ramelli provided. (Gille 199; Gnudi 15-17)<br />
==The Book That Never Happened==<br />
He drew sketches in preparation for another book on fortifications, but “wrote with bitterness and…disdain of the trusted member of his household who ‘…appearing to praise by giving me the title of expert…furtively robbed me of many special drawings…an published them as his own.’ (Gnudi 17)”. Some experts believe that person to be Ambroise Bachot, an architect and engineer to Henry IV whose work has always been related to Ramelli’s, although Ramelli never named his suspected thief. (Gnudi 17-19)<br />
<br />
==Ramelli’s Design:==<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s revolving bookcase had a circular structure that was built around a horizontal axis, which meant that the shelves on the wheel could be rotated up or down. This gave it the look of a Vetruvian Water wheel (or a ferris wheel) as opposed to the merry-go-round design that had been popular earlier. Each shelf is set at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the floor at all times. (Hall 389) This prevents the books from falling of the shelves during rotation. This design was also capable of saving space because all the information was moved vertically. This choice actually following the western tradition of axle design, although Ramelli was unique for applying this method to the book wheel. (Hall 390)<br />
<br />
<br />
===The Chinese revolving bookshelf and early European bookshelves:===<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s use of a horizontal axle was in contrast to the Chinese model of rotating bookshelves which work on a vertical axis. The earlier Chinese Bookcases dated as far back as the 6th century and they were massive structures as opposed to the Book Wheel designed by Ramelli. (Hall 390-1). This model has been speculated to have come about due to the translation work done by Buddhists in China at the time (Needham 553-554).<br />
<br />
Ramelli’s wheel also differed greatly from earlier European made devices. An earlier model designed by Bocaccio during the early 15th Century consisted of a round table that could be raised or lowered by rotating a central screw that is fixed to the base. The main purpose seemed to focused on raising or lowering the table between eye level and average table height. (Clark 307)<br />
<br />
Other examples demonstrated the ability to be manipulated with or without the ability to adjust the height and or the position of objects on the table. <br />
<br />
Almost all of these however required the device to be turned along a vertical axis (meaning the movement took place on a horizontal plane, excluding the ability to increase or decrease its height.<br />
<br />
==Today's Influence==<br />
Ramelli’s bookwheel was for the information savvy people of the day. Today there is technology that allows us to cross reference more things quicker, observe multiple things at once, and feed our ADD minds.<br />
<br />
===Computer Screen Viewing===<br />
In today's age, we want to be able to multitask as much as possible. When using computers, it is no different. It used to be that you needed to open up separate windows for each function, program, or web page on your screen. If you wanted to view a different window, you had to click and drag it away or minimize it. Then web browsers made it possible for multiple tabs to be opened up in the same internet window, making it easier and faster to view multiple web sites at once. Now you can cross reference windows even quicker. Both Mac and PC operating systems have functions that clear away the screen, moving all the windows to the edges so you can view your desktop with the push of a key or swipe of a mousepad. Or you can view all of your open windows and programs and documents at one time so to be able to switch from window to window faster. This makes it even possible to view multiple pictures and/or videos at the same time.<br />
[[Image:screenshot|thumb|right|MAC Screenshot (Procida). ]]</div>Miksok09