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 Greek astronomer, Andronicus, was recorded as building the first weather vane. It sat on top of a tower in Athens. It was built in honor of Triton, Greek god of the sea, and was half human, half fish. Triton held a wand that showed the direction in which wind was blowing. The ancient Romans also used weather vanes.
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 pointer on the weather vane has to be the right shape and it has to move freely. The pointer is larger at one end and tapered at the other. The large end catches wind and turns to point where it is going while the small end swings to point to where it is coming from.
A weather vane that is shaped correctly and has balance will spin freely. If it is not precisely balanced, it will shift or topple and even stop moving. The weight needs to be equally distributed on either side of the axis or the vane will not spin freely. Some modern weather vanes do not have the necessary weight balance. They are designed more as architectural ornaments than for determining wind direction.
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 people see wind direction, they start noticing patterns and when they put this together with knowledge about the local climate, they start being able to make simple forecasts. They may notice, for example, that wind from a certain direction usually brings rain or that wind from another direction may mean that a storm is coming.
Knowing about where the wind was coming from was a great help to farmers in the past. They would examine the signs daily and put together their knowledge about the local area and climate to make their predictions. This could help them plant their crops in the right places and protect them. Today, we no longer need to determine weather by using weather vanes. We have plenty of modern instruments that are far superior. However, the appeal of this instrument remains and many people still enjoy placing them on their homes.
The Greek astronomer, Andronicus, was recorded as building the first weather vane. It sat on top of a tower in Athens. It was built in honor of Triton, Greek god of the sea, and was half human, half fish. Triton held a wand that showed the direction in which wind was blowing. The ancient Romans also used weather vanes.
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 pointer on the weather vane has to be the right shape and it has to move freely. The pointer is larger at one end and tapered at the other. The large end catches wind and turns to point where it is going while the small end swings to point to where it is coming from.
A weather vane that is shaped correctly and has balance will spin freely. If it is not precisely balanced, it will shift or topple and even stop moving. The weight needs to be equally distributed on either side of the axis or the vane will not spin freely. Some modern weather vanes do not have the necessary weight balance. They are designed more as architectural ornaments than for determining wind direction.
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 people see wind direction, they start noticing patterns and when they put this together with knowledge about the local climate, they start being able to make simple forecasts. They may notice, for example, that wind from a certain direction usually brings rain or that wind from another direction may mean that a storm is coming.
Knowing about where the wind was coming from was a great help to farmers in the past. They would examine the signs daily and put together their knowledge about the local area and climate to make their predictions. This could help them plant their crops in the right places and protect them. Today, we no longer need to determine weather by using weather vanes. We have plenty of modern instruments that are far superior. However, the appeal of this instrument remains and many people still enjoy placing them on their homes.
About the Author:
Check out an amazing selection of weathervanes by visiting our web pages now. To know more about our roof finials and our roof caps, use the links at http://www.ferroweathervanes.com/weathervanes today.
No comments:
Post a Comment