Measure. Analyze. Learn.
This is the Vernier Anemometer.
It is used to measure wind speed.
So, you might use it in weather studies,
and investigating how fast the wind is blowing.
I might use it here to look at the wind speed
produced by a variable speed fan.
It may be used with, say, the Kid Wind Project,
where you're designing different kinds of windmills,
and using it in conjunction with a current sensor or a
voltage probe, to measure the output of a windmill.
So, it's very useful in that range.
And, the way it works, is that you have the impeller here,
and as it turns, it actually turns a magnet, and it
induces a current in a coil, and so it produces a
voltage that is the device can read.
And so, the faster it spins the higher the voltage,
and you get your wind speed reading here.
We suggest that you want to use it with wind speeds
in the range of 0.5 meters per second
up to about 30 meters per second.
If it's too slow, the value may not be correct,
or if higher than that, it's obviously going too fast there.
This threaded hole here allows me to attach a threaded rod.
And so, I might use this so that I could mount it to,
maybe with a clamp,
if I wanted to actually mount it to something.
If I just wanted to use it outside, I might just remove this,
and just be able to hold the sensor without it.
So, that's just a standard thread,
like that you might have on a tripod, if you wanted to.
So, let's collect a little data with this.
So, I need to plug it into my LabQuest.
And, it's an analog sensor,
so it's going to go into one of the analog ports here.
So, I'm going to plug it in.
And so now, we've got a reading there of zero.
It's just laying on the table.
Let's take a look at our default collection parameters:
So, it's a 'Time Based',
it's going to measure the wind speed as a function of time;
10 samples per second;
and then, the duration of 60 seconds.
So, it's just going to be a one minute collection here.
Maybe, I could test and see if it's working.
I might go [blowing sound]/[whir of impeller]
So, as I turn that, we obviously now get a reading.
So, it's turning and I'm getting a reading here.
I'm going to hold it up in front of the fan.
And, what I will do is, I'll start collection.
I'm going to hold it up here, and then I will turn the fan on.
And so, I'm creating the wind, and we can measure that.
Begin collection, I press the collect button there.
And now, I will hold it up here, and turn the fan on.
And, we'll let, so we start to measure the wind speed there.
And then, turn it up a little higher.
[whir of fan]
There we go.
Let it level off there a little bit maybe.
Now, go all the way to full speed.
[whir of fan]
So, we'll just, kind of, let it level off.
[whir of fan]
And now, let's turn the fan off.
Let's keep holding it there, in front of the fan so we watch it…
the speed decrease.
So, at this point, I'll just go ahead and hit stop.
And so that, we can stop our data collection.
So now, we have some data to analyze.
So, we see that as we turn on the fan,
the wind velocity began to increase there.
And then finally, we got it to where it leveled off there.
And then, when we turned it off, the wind speed decreased.
We might be interested in knowing something about,
you know, what was the maximum wind speed
generated by our fan?
So, we could use some of the analysis features,
like the statistics function.
So, I could go to the 'Statistics', tap there.
And then, up here we see the maximum wind speed
was 5.3 meters per second at 27.8 seconds.
Again, this is the Anemometer.
So, for measurements of wind speed,
it's the device you'd need to use.
It's easy to use for all different age ranges,
so elementary through college could use this.
And so, for weather studies,
alternative energy studies with windmills,
it's a great sensor to be able to use.