Did You Know?

The first wind socks were Chinese kites.

Wind socks are used to determine the direction that wind is blowing. Modern wind socks are based on an ancient Chinese kite design. Chinese kites were used as early as 500 B.C.  Some  kites were in the shape of dragons to frighten enemies and some were shaped like our modern wind socks. They were also used to indicate the strength and direction of the wind.

Five men who because famous for flying a kite

http://members.bellatlantic.net/%7Evze26db3/history.htm

How to make a kite:

http://www.skratch-pad.com/kites/make.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_1288_make-kite.html

Make your kite–enter instructions, photos, for a chance to win an autographed copy of one of my science books.

Wind is air moving in a horizontal direction. In other words, wind is air moving parallel to the Earth’s surface.

The photo shows a wind sock being lifted by air. The direction the wind is indicated by the direction that the sock is pointed.  It can blow in any different compass direction. One easy way to figure out which way the wind is blowing is to use a wind sock

(a tapered, cloth tube used to indicate wind direction and intensity). A wind sock is usually is usually made of nylon and looks sort of like a sock with the toe cut off. It has one large end that is held open by a fixed ring. Then it tapers down to a smaller open end. When the wind blows, the wind sock fills with air and its tapered end points in the direction the wind is moving. The wind sock can also tell you the relative strength of the wind. A light wind will not hold the sock straight out. If the sock is held up so that it is horizontal, there must be a strong wind.

Modern wind socks are based on an ancient Chinese kite design. The Chinese kites were used as early as 500 B.C. Some of the kites were in the shape of dragons to frighten enemies and some were shaped like our modern wind socks. They were also used to indicate the strength and direction of wind.