Leonardo da Vinci sketched an anemometer to record wind speed using a hinged plate.
An anemometer is an instrument for measuring wind speed. Leonardo’s design used a plate that moved in response to the wind, with a graduated scale intended to show how far the plate was displaced. Stronger wind would push the plate farther, providing a comparative reading.
Leonardo’s device was not the modern cup anemometer commonly seen on weather stations. Cup anemometers use rotating cups, while later instruments also used propellers, pressure differences, or electronic sensors. Leonardo’s hinged-plate approach was an early attempt to turn wind force into a readable measurement.
The sketch belongs to his broader investigations of air and atmospheric movement. His studies of flight, wind, and fluid motion connected practical engineering with close observation. The instrument’s historical importance is that it helped frame wind as something that could be measured systematically rather than merely described as calm or strong.