A weather vane will point in the direction from which the wind is blowing. It is placed in the highest, most unobstructed location on a structure. It only works properly if the wind flows freely and is not blocked by trees or other buildings. For those who did not have our modern instruments for measuring wind direction and speed, weathervanes had great significance.
The first weather vane was built in Ancient Greece by Andronicus, A Greek astronomer. It was built out of bronze in honor of Triton, a Greek god. A wand in his hand indicated wind direction from the top of a tower in Athens. Its head and torso were that of a man and it had the tail of a fish.
In the ninth century, rooster weather vanes were found on the top many church steeples. The Smithsonian magazine states that Pope Nicholas 1 had decreed that every church needed one to remind believers of a biblical prophecy of Christ about Peter, the disciple who would betray him after his crucifixion. Today, the rooster shape remains popular, not only for its shape that is well suited to catching wind but due to the symbolism attached to it of welcoming the day and the light after the darkness.
The weather vane is shaped aerodynamically. The one end of its pointer is thicker than the other and has a larger surface area. This enables it to catch wind and turn the pointer. The large end points to where wind is going and the small end to where it is coming from.
If the weather vane has the correct shape and balance, it is able to move freely. If not, it may not move at all or shift when it moves. Weight has to be equally distributed on either side of the axis to enable it to move freely. In designing modern weather vanes, more consideration may be given to aesthetic appeal than the ability to determine wind direction as this is no longer considered necessary.
Beneath the point on a wind vane, it usually has fixed markers. There are four markers for each direction of the compass. If the arrow points toward the marker for south on the vane, it shows that wind is blowing from the south. If it is pointing to the west, wind is blowing from the west and towards the east.
When observers look at changing directions and wind patterns, they can make simple forecasts. Forecasts are based on other factors too, such as knowledge or experience of local climatic conditions. If they know that the north is cold and the south is warm, for example, they know what to expect when wind comes from that direction.
Farmers relied on weather vanes to help them know more about the weather. This was important when making such decisions as to when and where to plant crops and whether to plant windbreakers. They put the information about the wind together with other knowledge to make these decisions. Today, we do not use weather vanes in the same way. They are still popular and many people have them on their houses or barns but they are used more for ornamental and sentimental reasons.
The first weather vane was built in Ancient Greece by Andronicus, A Greek astronomer. It was built out of bronze in honor of Triton, a Greek god. A wand in his hand indicated wind direction from the top of a tower in Athens. Its head and torso were that of a man and it had the tail of a fish.
In the ninth century, rooster weather vanes were found on the top many church steeples. The Smithsonian magazine states that Pope Nicholas 1 had decreed that every church needed one to remind believers of a biblical prophecy of Christ about Peter, the disciple who would betray him after his crucifixion. Today, the rooster shape remains popular, not only for its shape that is well suited to catching wind but due to the symbolism attached to it of welcoming the day and the light after the darkness.
The weather vane is shaped aerodynamically. The one end of its pointer is thicker than the other and has a larger surface area. This enables it to catch wind and turn the pointer. The large end points to where wind is going and the small end to where it is coming from.
If the weather vane has the correct shape and balance, it is able to move freely. If not, it may not move at all or shift when it moves. Weight has to be equally distributed on either side of the axis to enable it to move freely. In designing modern weather vanes, more consideration may be given to aesthetic appeal than the ability to determine wind direction as this is no longer considered necessary.
Beneath the point on a wind vane, it usually has fixed markers. There are four markers for each direction of the compass. If the arrow points toward the marker for south on the vane, it shows that wind is blowing from the south. If it is pointing to the west, wind is blowing from the west and towards the east.
When observers look at changing directions and wind patterns, they can make simple forecasts. Forecasts are based on other factors too, such as knowledge or experience of local climatic conditions. If they know that the north is cold and the south is warm, for example, they know what to expect when wind comes from that direction.
Farmers relied on weather vanes to help them know more about the weather. This was important when making such decisions as to when and where to plant crops and whether to plant windbreakers. They put the information about the wind together with other knowledge to make these decisions. Today, we do not use weather vanes in the same way. They are still popular and many people have them on their houses or barns but they are used more for ornamental and sentimental reasons.
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