A weather vane is located on a high structure. It cannot be obstructed by trees or buildings because their purpose is to catch the wind. It can determine from which direction a wind is blowing. In days gone by, weathervanes were very important, especially for farmers, for whom wind and weather were daily considerations.
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.
It was in the ninth century that it was decreed that all churches must have a rooster weather vane on their domes or steeples. Roosters were used for hundreds of years after that on churches in Britain and America and they are still popular today. Perhaps this is because of their significance as a symbol of light conquering darkness and bringing in the dawn, or it could be simply because the tail of a rooster catches wind well. The force on the tail is greater than on the head and so the head swings to face the wind.
On a wind vane, the free-swinging directional pointer or arrow is thicker at the one end and thinner at the other. The larger end with the greater surface area catches the breeze. The small end turns to point in the direction from which a wind is coming, and the larger end turns to point where it is going.
If the weather vane has the correct shape and balance, it is able to move freely. If not, it may not move at all or shift when it moves. Weight has to be equally distributed on either side of the axis to enable it to move freely. In designing modern weather vanes, more consideration may be given to aesthetic appeal than the ability to determine wind direction as this is no longer considered necessary.
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 observers look at changing directions and wind patterns, they can make simple forecasts. Forecasts are based on other factors too, such as knowledge or experience of local climatic conditions. If they know that the north is cold and the south is warm, for example, they know what to expect when wind comes from that direction.
Farmers relied on weather vanes to help them know more about the weather. This was important when making such decisions as to when and where to plant crops and whether to plant windbreakers. They put the information about the wind together with other knowledge to make these decisions. Today, we do not use weather vanes in the same way. They are still popular and many people have them on their houses or barns but they are used more for ornamental and sentimental reasons.
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.
It was in the ninth century that it was decreed that all churches must have a rooster weather vane on their domes or steeples. Roosters were used for hundreds of years after that on churches in Britain and America and they are still popular today. Perhaps this is because of their significance as a symbol of light conquering darkness and bringing in the dawn, or it could be simply because the tail of a rooster catches wind well. The force on the tail is greater than on the head and so the head swings to face the wind.
On a wind vane, the free-swinging directional pointer or arrow is thicker at the one end and thinner at the other. The larger end with the greater surface area catches the breeze. The small end turns to point in the direction from which a wind is coming, and the larger end turns to point where it is going.
If the weather vane has the correct shape and balance, it is able to move freely. If not, it may not move at all or shift when it moves. Weight has to be equally distributed on either side of the axis to enable it to move freely. In designing modern weather vanes, more consideration may be given to aesthetic appeal than the ability to determine wind direction as this is no longer considered necessary.
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 observers look at changing directions and wind patterns, they can make simple forecasts. Forecasts are based on other factors too, such as knowledge or experience of local climatic conditions. If they know that the north is cold and the south is warm, for example, they know what to expect when wind comes from that direction.
Farmers relied on weather vanes to help them know more about the weather. This was important when making such decisions as to when and where to plant crops and whether to plant windbreakers. They put the information about the wind together with other knowledge to make these decisions. Today, we do not use weather vanes in the same way. They are still popular and many people have them on their houses or barns but they are used more for ornamental and sentimental reasons.
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