Leonardo da Vinci designed an anemometer to measure the force of wind.
His wind-measuring device used a hinged plate that moved upward as wind pressure increased. A graduated scale could indicate the strength of the wind by showing how far the plate was displaced. The design demonstrates Leonardo’s effort to convert an invisible natural force into a measurable mechanical movement.
The device was useful for his studies of flight, because wind speed and direction affect birds and flying machines. It also reflects Renaissance interest in instruments that recorded or compared natural phenomena. Leonardo’s version was an early conceptual form of an anemometer, not the cup or propeller instruments commonly seen at weather stations today.
Anemometers measure wind speed or force, while a wind vane indicates direction. These functions can appear together in weather instruments but are not identical. Leonardo’s design is remembered primarily for its pressure-sensitive plate and its connection to his investigations of air and flight.