Leonardo da Vinci sketched an anemometer, a device for measuring wind speed.
His design used a light, vertical plate that could move in the wind. A graduated scale allowed the observer to estimate how far the plate was pushed, linking the movement to wind strength. Leonardo included the instrument among his studies of air, flight, weather, and atmospheric motion.
The device was not a modern cup anemometer, which uses rotating cups, nor was it intended to measure wind direction alone. It was an early attempt to turn the force of moving air into a visible reading. The design reflects Leonardo’s habit of combining observation with mechanical measurement.
Anemometers later developed into several forms, including cup, vane, hot-wire, and ultrasonic instruments. Leonardo’s plate-based concept is historically important because it treats wind as a measurable physical force rather than merely a qualitative weather condition.