Windplate
Wind plate , also known as plate anemometer , is the generic term for two structurally different anemometers, the common component of which is a flat plate that evades the flow pressure contained in the wind , and is one of the historical instruments with which the speed of the wind's air flow is measured can be.
history
The wind plate is the oldest known anemometer . It was probably invented by the Italian architect and mathematician Leon Battista Alberti around 1450. In 1501 Leonardo da Vinci drew his own version, a vibrating plate anemometer. In 1667 the Royal Society in London again mentions a vibrating plate anemometer, the reinvention of which is now attributed to Robert Hooke . It differs technically very noticeably from the oscillating plate anemometer in the sketch by Leonardo da Vinci. One could say that Robert Hooke's invention has nothing to do with a pendulum suspended, i.e. swinging plate. In contrast to the version drawn on Leonardo da Vinci's sketch, Hooke's wind plate moves linearly in the direction of the wind flow and springs back mechanically without changing the angle of attack to the flow. That is why Hooke's system is also called a pressure plate anemometer or deflection plate anemometer.
Distinguishing features
The oscillating plate anemometer by Leonardo da Vinci is a pendulum plate that hangs down on a horizontally attached axis and gives way to the pressure of the air flow. The inclination angle of the plate can be read off on a graduated scale behind the plane of movement of the vibrating plate, along with the parameters of the wind strength.
The pressure plate anemometer, or as it is aptly referred to as deflection plate anemometer , is based on a linear deflection of the plate , which is fixed perpendicular to the flow, on a slide rail. Here, the weight of the panel does not return it to its original position, but this function is performed by a relatively weak resilience on the side of the panel facing away from the wind. Here, a pointer is also brought to deflection by a pulling thread, the thread with the pointer being held taut by a weight starting from the movable plate via a deflection roller . The wind speed is then displayed on a scale .
Uses
Both types of anemometers used to be used for meteorological recordings, but today these types are rarely found due to their inaccuracy. Leonardo da Vinci's construction method is an exception to this. This is the simplest construction ever, and because such a device can be easily implemented without much knowledge and with little effort and also easily withstands any weather, you can still find such wind plates with a weather vane rotatable to the wind, mostly in Standing gardens and intended as a special ornament for some simply designed weather stations.