revolving-cup electric anemometer

The revolving-cup electric anemometer is a widely used instrument for measuring airflow speed, particularly wind speed. This device features revolving cups that drive an electric generator. The generator's output powers a meter calibrated to display wind speed, typically within a range of 5 to 100 knots.1

Other types of anemometers include the propeller anemometer, which also uses a propeller to drive an electric generator, and instruments that measure airspeed by timing the revolutions of vanes. The hot-wire anemometer operates on the principle of cooling a heated wire by airflow, with the input power needed to maintain a constant wire temperature indicating airspeed. Additionally, pitot tubes and Venturi tubes measure airspeed by detecting pressure differences within air streams. An anemometer is defined as an instrument for measuring and indicating the force or speed, and sometimes direction, of the wind.12