Editing Speedometer (section)

{{short description|Speed gauge in motor vehicles}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{broader|Speed measurement}}
{{Infobox machine
| image             = Toyota Corolla 2016 speedometer.jpg
| caption           = A modern speedometer in a [[Toyota Corolla]]
| classification    = [[Gauge (instrument)|Gauge]]
| industry          = [[Automotive industry| Automotive]]
| application       = Speed [[measurement]]
| inventor          = [[Josip Belušić]]
| invented          = {{start date and years ago|1888|df=y|p=y}}
}}
[[File: Animated Aston Martin Speedometer.gif|thumb|An animation of an [[Speedometer#Electronic|electronic]] [[Aston Martin]] speedometer's self-test routine, showing how an analogue speedometer hand may indicate the [[vehicle|vehicle's]] speed]]
[[File: Ford Mondeo MK3 ST220 - Speedometer.jpg|thumb|A [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] speedometer, showing both mph (outer) and km/h (inner), as well as an [[odometer]] in miles]]
[[File:717mpg.jpg|thumb|A digital, [[LCD]] speedometer in a [[Honda Insight]]]]

A '''speedometer''' or '''speed meter''' is a [[gauge (instrument)|gauge]] that measures and displays the instantaneous [[speed]] of a vehicle. Now universally fitted to [[motor vehicle]]s, they started to be available as options in the early 20th century, and as standard equipment from about 1910 onwards.<ref name="how">{{cite web |url= http://auto.howstuffworks.com/speedometer.htm |title=How Speedometers Work |first=William |last=Harris |date=10 July 2007 |website=auto.howstuffworks.com |access-date=30 January 2015}}</ref> Other vehicles may use devices analogous to the speedometer with different means of sensing speed, eg. boats use a [[pit log]], while aircraft use an [[airspeed indicator]].

[[Charles Babbage]] is credited with creating an early type of a speedometer, which was usually fitted to [[locomotive]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://sites.google.com/a/newmyths.com/nmwebsite/non_fiction/charles-babbage-and-the-difference-engine |title=Charles Babbage and the Difference Engine |website=NewMyths.com |first=I.E. |last=Lester |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200803100546/https://sites.google.com/a/newmyths.com/nmwebsite/non_fiction/charles-babbage-and-the-difference-engine |archive-date=3 August 2020 |access-date=30 December 2022}}</ref>

The electric speedometer was invented by the [[Croats|Croat]] [[Josip Belušić]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Sobey |first=Ed |year=2009 |title=A Field Guide to Automotive Technology |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7GMrH4nRhcAC&q=speedometer+invented&pg=PA78 |page=78 |publisher=Chicago Review Press |isbn=978-1-55652-812-5 |access-date=30 January 2015}}</ref> in 1888 and was originally called a velocimeter.