Leonardo da Vinci improved an anemometer, an instrument for measuring wind speed.
Leonardo’s design used a light plate that moved in the wind. A graduated scale allowed an observer to estimate the force or speed of the airflow from the plate’s position. The arrangement made invisible moving air easier to compare and record.
Leonardo studied wind for practical and scientific reasons, including flight, weather, water movement, and the behavior of sails. His anemometer was not a modern cup or propeller instrument, but it expressed the same goal: turning wind motion into a measurable reading.
The name anemometer comes from Aeolus, the Greek keeper of the winds. Leonardo’s design is often described as an improvement to an earlier concept associated with Leon Battista Alberti, rather than an entirely isolated invention.