The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
The wind vane, or weather vane, is the simplest and oldest of weather instruments. As far back as 100 b.c., the Greeks mounted wind vanes atop statues of their gods. These functioned as ornaments until the sixteenth century.
Leonardo da Vinci made illustrations of many mechanical devices during the early 1500s, including the wind vane. Although often credited as being an inventor, many of his sketches were of devices already in existence.
In 1578, Egnation Dante, an astronomer from Bologna, was the first to use a directional indicator with a vane. His vane had a vertical dial. The first splayed dial, familiar today, was created in 1797 by G. R. Parrot of Paris. The first practical recording vane was developed in 1868 by F. Pfeiffer. It used a recording drum rotated by the vane's own power. Today, wind direction and velocity are usually recorded electronically at stations distant from the vane.