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A braid (also referred to as a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing two or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-stranded structure. More complex patterns can be constructed from an arbitrary number of strands to create a wider range of structures (such as a fishtail braid, a five-stranded braid, rope braid, a French braid and a waterfall braid). The structure is usually long and narrow with each component strand functionally equivalent in zigzagging forward through the overlapping mass of the others. It can be compared with the process of weaving, which usually involves two separate perpendicular groups of strands (
warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a ...
and weft). Historically, the materials used have depended on the indigenous plants and animals available in the local area. During the Industrial Revolution, mechanized braiding equipment was invented to increase production. The braiding technique was used to make ropes with both natural and synthetic fibers as well as
coaxial cable Coaxial cable, or coax (pronounced ) is a type of electrical cable consisting of an inner conductor surrounded by a concentric conducting shield, with the two separated by a dielectric ( insulating material); many coaxial cables also have a p ...
s for radios using copper wire. In more recent times it has been used to create a covering for fuel pipes in jet aircraft and ships (first using
glass fibre Glass fiber ( or glass fibre) is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass. Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the inventio ...
, then stainless steel and Kevlar). Hoses for domestic plumbing are often covered with stainless steel braid.


Hair braiding

The oldest known reproduction of hair braiding may go back about 30,000 years: the Venus of Willendorf, a female figurine estimated to have been made between about 28,000 and 25,000 BC in modern-day Austria. The Venus of Brassempouy from the southwest of France is estimated to be about 25,000 years old and shows a braided hairstyle. Although many cultures want to take sole credit for the braid, they cannot be traced to a single origin. Like how different versions of Cinderella are traceable to nearly every culture, braids, too, are polygenetic. One early example of hair braiding takes place in 1279-1213 bce as recorded in the story of Isis: "when some of the queen's maidens came to the well, she greeted them kindly and began to braid their hair." During the Bronze Age and Iron Age many peoples in the
Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...
, Asia Minor, Caucasus, East Mediterranean and North Africa are depicted in art with braided or plaited hair and beards. Similarly, the practice is recorded in Europe, Africa, India,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, Australasia and Central Asia. Braiding is traditionally a social art. Because of the time it takes to braid hair, people have often taken time to socialize while braiding and having their hair braided. It begins with the elders making simple knots and braids for younger children. Older children watch and learn from them, start practicing on younger children, and eventually learn the traditional designs. This carries on a tradition of bonding between elders and the new generation. Types of braids include box braids, cornrows, crochet braids, and French braid. Braiding is also used to prepare horses' manes and tails for showing such as in
polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
and polocrosse.


Industrial history and use

Early braids had many uses, such as costume decoration, animal regalia (like camel girths),
sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
decoration, bowls and hats (from palm leaves), locks (such as those made in Japan to secure precious tea supplies through the use of elaborate knots), and weapons (e.g. slings). Materials that are used in braids can vary depending on local materials. For instance, South Americans used the very fine fibers from the wool of alpaca and llama, while North American people made use of
bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...
fibers. Throughout the world, vegetable fibers such as grass, nettle, and
hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...
have been used to create braids. In China, Korea, and Japan silk still remains the main material used. In the Americas, the braiding of leather is also common. Plaiting with kangaroo leather has been a widely practiced tradition in rural Australia since pioneering times. It is used in the production of fine leather belts, hatbands, bridles, dog leads, bullwhips,
stockwhip A stockwhip is a type of whip made of a long, tapered length of flexible, plaited leather or nylon with a stiff handle and thong able to pivot along the handle easily. Stock whips are used when mustering cattle.'' Origin and uses The Austral ...
s, etc. Other leathers are used for the plaiting of heavier products suitable for everyday use. For nomadic peoples, braiding was a practical means of producing useful and decorative textiles. In other areas, such as the
Pacific islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...
(where leaves and grasses are braided), and for many hill tribes, braids are made using minimal equipment. It was only when braiding became a popular occupation in the home or school, as it is in China and Japan, and when the Industrial Revolution came about, that specific tools were developed to increase production and make it easier to produce more complicated patterns of braids. Braids are also very good for making rope and decorative objects. Complex braids have been used to create hanging fibre artworks. Gold braids and silver braids are components or trims of many kinds of
formal dress Formal wear or full dress is the Western dress code category applicable for the most formal occasions, such as weddings, christenings, confirmations, funerals, Easter and Christmas traditions, in addition to certain state dinners, audiences, ...
, including military uniform (in epaulettes, aiguillettes, on headgear).


Ropes and cables

Braiding creates a composite rope that is thicker and stronger than the non-interlaced strands of yarn. Braided ropes are preferred by arborists, rock climbers, and in
sport sailing The sport of sailing involves a variety of competitive sailing formats that are sanctioned through various sailing federations and yacht clubs. Racing disciplines include matches within a fleet of sailing craft, between a pair thereof or among t ...
because they do not twist under load, as does an ordinary twisted-strand rope. These ropes consist of one or more concentric tubular braided jackets surrounding either several small twisted fibre cords, or a single untwisted yarn of straight fibres, and are known as Kernmantle ropes. In electrical and electronic cables, ''braid'' is a tubular sheath made of braided strands of metal placed around a central cable for shielding against
electromagnetic interference Electromagnetic interference (EMI), also called radio-frequency interference (RFI) when in the radio frequency spectrum, is a disturbance generated by an external source that affects an electrical circuit by electromagnetic induction, electros ...
. The braid is grounded while the central conductor(s) carries the signal. The braid may be used in addition to a foil jacket to increase shielding and durability.
Litz wire Litz wire is a particular type of multistrand wire or cable used in electronics to carry alternating current (AC) at radio frequencies. The wire is designed to reduce the skin effect and proximity effect losses in conductors used at frequencies ...
uses braids of thin insulated wires to carry high frequency signals with much lower losses from
skin effect Skin effect is the tendency of an alternating electric current (AC) to become distributed within a conductor such that the current density is largest near the surface of the conductor and decreases exponentially with greater depths in the co ...
or to minimise proximity effect in transformers. Flat braids made of many copper wires can also be used for flexible electrical connections between large components. The numerous smaller wires comprising the braid are much more resistant to breaking under repeated motion and vibration than is a cable of larger wires. A common example of this may be found connecting a car battery's negative terminal to the metal
chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
. Similar braiding is used on pressurized hoses, such as in plumbing and
hydraulic brake A hydraulic brake is an arrangement of braking mechanism which uses brake fluid, typically containing glycol ethers or diethylene glycol, to transfer pressure from the controlling mechanism to the braking mechanism. History During 1904, Frederick ...
systems in automobiles. Braiding is also used for fibres for composite reinforcements. A property of the basic braid is that removing one strand unlinks the other two, as they are not twisted around each other. Mathematically, a braid with that property is called a
Brunnian braid In knot theory, a branch of topology, a Brunnian link is a nontrivial link that becomes a set of trivial unlinked circles if any one component is removed. In other words, cutting any loop frees all the other loops (so that no two loops can be ...
.


Metaphors

Braids are often used figuratively to represent interweaving or combination, such as in, "He braided many different ideas into a new whole." In some river and stream systems, small streams join and redivide in many places. Such stream systems are said to be
braided Braided is a musical group consisting of Casey LeBlanc, Ashley Leitão, and Amber Fleury, who all competed on the third season of '' Canadian Idol'' in 2005. They are the third music group to come from an Idol show in the world, after Young Div ...
. These are often found in alluvial fans at the outlet of
canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...
s. This is a result of heavy sediment deposition at high flows followed by re-erosion at low flows.


Gallery

Image:Braid final rot.jpg, A braid Image:RG-59.jpg, A
coaxial cable Coaxial cable, or coax (pronounced ) is a type of electrical cable consisting of an inner conductor surrounded by a concentric conducting shield, with the two separated by a dielectric ( insulating material); many coaxial cables also have a p ...
with braided copper wire EMI shielding (B) Image:Gold braid with star.JPG, A gold braid on a police uniform Image:Braided cable close up.jpg, A close up of a red braided USB cable.


See also

*
Braiding machine A braiding machine is a device that interlaces three or more strands of yarn or wire to create a variety of materials, including rope, reinforced hose, covered power cords, and some types of lace. Braiding materials include natural and synthetic ...
s * Braid theory * Ceinture fléchée * Kumihimo, Japanese braid *
Ply-split braiding Ply-split braiding is a technique where one twisted cord ("splitter") passes ''through'' another twisted cord or cords splitting the plies of the latter cords ("splittee" cords). This is unlike weaving or many forms of braiding where cloth is formed ...
* Sennit


References


External links

* * *Minnesota Statute Sec.155A.28 https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/155A.28 {{Authority control Cables Needlework Ropework