Leon Battista Alberti's bombard problem in \textit{Ludi matematici}: geometry and warfare
The \textit{Ludi matematici} is a little-known collection of twenty mathematical problems that could be solved by means of mathematical techniques. It has been written by the polymath Leon Battista Alberti (1404--1472), an illustrious personage from the Italian Renaissance, presently better known as the author of \textit{Ten books on architecture}. In this outstanding pluridisciplinary article, interesting not only for the history of mathematics, but also for warfare, mathematical instruments, architecture and physics, the authors focus their attention on one of these problems: the bombard problem -- the bombard is a sort of early cannon, made possible by the invention of gunpowder two centuries earlier (cf. Roger Bacon, 1267) and it played a major role in the two-months siege of Constantinople, in 1453 (p. 37). As also explained by them, the \textit{modus operandi} of the bombard was not fully understood in Alberti's days but it played an important role in the later development of artillery, ballistics and fortifications (pp. 35--37). In particular, the authors mention in this respect Galileo's military compass as a direct descendant of the \textit{equilibra} (p. 36). The crux of the matter depends of an instrument, the equilibra, which is shown to be a prototype of the gunner's quadrant (p. 33) and which was a version of the antique archipendulum described by Fibonacci. Owing to it, the inclination of the bombard can be measured and some insight into the trajectory of its projectile obtained. Although Alberti did not care about its exact shape, he noticed that it was inscribed in a right triangle and he provided a technique to adjust the aim of the bombard from considerations based on similitude and right-angled triangles as reconstructed by the authors.
- The mathematical works of Leon Battista Alberti. Translated from the Italian and with commentary by Kim Williams, Lionel March and Stephen R. Wassell. Foreword by Robert Tavernor. With contributions by Richard Schofield and Angela Pintore.
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