Leonardo da Vinci’s one invention is still getting used in many modern canals. Let’s get to know them in detail.A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways.
Locks are used to make a river more easily navigable, or to allow a canal to cross land that is not level. Later canals used more and larger locks to allow a more direct route to be taken.
The Miter lock consists of two gates which swing open on a hinge in unison. When closed they press up against each other at 45°, meaning the pressure of the water only closes them tighter. When there is an equal level of water on either side, the open with ease.
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Gates are the watertight doors which seal off the chamber from the upper and lower pounds. Each end of the chamber is equipped with a gate, or pair of half-gates, made of oak or elm (or now sometimes steel). The most common arrangement, usually called miter gates, was invented by Leonardo da Vinci sometime around the late 15th century.
