Why is wind directon expressed as "FROM"?

Are my efforts more amusing than most?

I guess we'll never know.

Surely you had a prior opinion, else you would not be wondering "just
how I would do it". For the record, I'd simply suggest removing the
tail feathers and replacing it with a weight to keep the thing in
balance. Assuming it had a significant arrow point (some do) that
should be sufficient. Otherwise reshape the tail into an arrow point -
the thing would be oriented in the same direction but the shape would
now point the other way.

Jose
--
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for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

On Sat, 07 Jan 2006 16:07:49 GMT, Jose
wrote in : :

Are my efforts more amusing than most?

I guess we'll never know.

Surely you had a prior opinion, else you would not be wondering "just
how I would do it".

You made an assertion, and I wanted to see what *you* had in mind. I
had no preconceived idea of what your answer might be.

Look how "interesting" Mr. McNicol's suggestion turned out. :-)

For the record, I'd simply suggest removing the
tail feathers and replacing it [sic] with a weight to keep the thing in
balance. Assuming it had a significant arrow point (some do) that
should be sufficient.

See there. That's a unique suggestion. Of course it's not correct
for *all* instances, but as you state, it should work for most.

Otherwise reshape the tail into an arrow point -
the thing would be oriented in the same direction but the shape would
now point the other way.

I presume this suggestion is dependent on the removal of the arrowhead
as you mentioned earlier. (Correct me if I've inferred this wrong,
but you are suggesting that both the arrowhead and tail feathers be
removed, and the arrowhead be reattached at the former location of the
tail feathers with its point toward the end of the arm, and the pivot
point unaltered.) If so, and the weather vane worked normally before
it was modified, it should function as you expect.

As I stated earlier, the end of the weather vane that points into the
wind (or with the wind) is dependent on the placement of the pivot
point (which governs the arm length) and the side area of each portion
(arm) of the vane on either side of the pivot point. It's similar to
what we all do when calculating weight and balance. In this case, the
length of each arm is multiplied by its side area (including any
"feathers" or "arrowhead" and the area of the arm itself). The end
with the larger moment forces its other end to point into the wind
when placed in the airstream. At least, that's the way I see it.

The physics involved are so intuitively trivial, that the subject is
hardly worth the discussion.

The physics involved are so intuitively trivial, that the subject is
hardly worth the discussion.

....which is why I am puzzled by your specific interest in my response.
But hey, this is Usenet.

I presume this [second] suggestion is dependent on the removal of the arrowhead
as you mentioned earlier.

No, it's predicated on "otherwise" - the case where there was not a
significant arrow point, and the only significant area exposed to the
wind is the tail.

(Correct me if I've inferred this wrong,
but you are suggesting that both the arrowhead and tail feathers be
removed, and the arrowhead be reattached at the former location of the
tail feathers with its point toward the end of the arm, and the pivot
point unaltered.)

No, just make the tail look like an arrow (pointing away from the pivot)
and you're done. No reattachment needed.

However, you do bring to mind a third way - a sort of stealth
weathervane. Take the tail =and= the head off, and reattach both them
in the opposite places (put the tail where the head was, and the head
where the tail was) and opposite directions (it would still look like an
arrow rather than something from Salvador Dali). The weathervane will
now point in the opposite direction than it did before, but since you
reversed the window dressing, it will look (to outsiders) as if nothing
had changed. Those who do not know of your secret modification will
simply see what looks like a normal weathervane, pointing into the wind.
But =you= (and anyone else you've clued in on your secret) will know
that the support beam is actually pointing in the opposite direction -
in the direction the wind is going!

Jose
--
You can choose whom to befriend, but you cannot choose whom to love.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

"Bob Chilcoat" wrote
I suspect that it comes from the days of sailing ships. All of your course
decisions are based on the direction of the wind. Tacking, running,
reaching, etc. are all referred to the current wind direction. I'm not
sure I fully understand why FROM was chosen as the convention, but when
you're sailing, you tend to keep the wind in your face unless you're
running.


I'd go back even further in time. Even before the age of ships, the
direction the wind comes FROM was the most interesting, as looking in that
direction could tell how the weather will change (well, fronts are
different, but they are a later invention). Later, when man learned to build
boats, looking INTO the wind was (and is) the best way to see how hard it
blows at sea, i.e. is it safe to leave the shore. It's easy to imagine that
the wind god is in that direction - better keep attention to him!

Just my $0.02 ;-)