The speedometer measures and displays a vehicle’s speed, and is now digital in many vehicles. It became standard in 1910 and has an error tolerance of around 10%. It is also used on airplanes and boats.
A speedometer is the device in a vehicle that measures and displays speed, and is essential for safety purposes on roads and highways around the world. The speedometer of a car, truck or motorcycle tells the driver how fast the vehicle is moving at any given time by instantly measuring ground speed. The device is now digital in many vehicles and takes different incarnations as the motorcycle speedometer or the bicycle speedometer.
Although the speedometer came to be seen as standard in the late 20th century, the device was not required on vehicles in the early 20th century. The automobile speedometer became standard in 1910, still in the automobile’s infancy, and has been a mainstay ever since. The normal speedometer and motorcycle speedometer have kept power on the vehicle’s dashboard and have been placed in full view of the driver.
Many of these devices are located right behind the wheel of your car, and can be read with a quick glance from the road. Some are digital and can be read with two or three numbers that reflect their speed; while others require a rotating arm like a clock. On most cars, the arm moves from low gear on the left to higher gears on the right. Many of these speedometers reflect speeds from zero miles per hour up to 140 miles (225 km) per hour; while others stop around the safe limit of 90 miles (145 km) per hour.
Invented in 1888 by Croatian scientist Josip Belusic and first called a speedometer, the speedometer has also been seen on various other forms of transportation. An airplane’s digital speedometer is called an airspeed indicator, while a boat’s is called a well log.
Speedometers have an error tolerance of around 10% as the car and device ages. The device is read by a flexible cable that is connected to the car’s transmission, indicating how fast the vehicle is moving. The latest electronic speedometers are equipped with magnets and field sensors in the driveshaft to provide the driver with vehicle speed. Even on bicycles, speedometers measure the time between wheel revolutions to tell the rider how fast they are going.
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