Inflatable
An inflatable is an object that can be inflated with a gas, usually with air, but hydrogen, helium, and nitrogen are also used. One of several advantages of an inflatable is that it can be stored in a small space when not inflated, since inflatables depend on the presence of a gas to maintain their size and shape. Function fulfillment per mass used compared with non-inflatable strategies is a key advantage. Stadium cushions, impact guards, vehicle wheel inner tubes, emergency air bags, and inflatable space habitats employ the inflatable principle. Inflation occurs through several strategies: pumps, ram-air, blowing, and suction. Although the term ''inflatable'' can refer to any type of inflatable object, the term is often used in boating to specifically refer to inflatable boats. Types High-pressure vs. low-pressure A distinction is made between high-pressure and low-pressure inflatables. In a high-pressure inflatable, structural limbs like pillars and arches are built out ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Inflatable Boat-002
An inflatable is an object that can be inflated with a gas, usually with air, but hydrogen, helium, and nitrogen are also used. One of several advantages of an inflatable is that it can be stored in a small space when not inflated, since inflatables depend on the presence of a gas to maintain their size and shape. Function fulfillment per mass used compared with non-inflatable strategies is a key advantage. Stadium cushions, impact guards, vehicle wheel inner tubes, emergency air bags, and inflatable space habitats employ the inflatable principle. Inflation occurs through several strategies: pumps, ram-air, blowing, and suction. Although the term ''inflatable'' can refer to any type of inflatable object, the term is often used in boating to specifically refer to inflatable boats. Types High-pressure vs. low-pressure A distinction is made between high-pressure and low-pressure inflatables. In a high-pressure inflatable, structural limbs like pillars and arches are built out ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Inflatable Boats
An inflatable boat is a lightweight boat constructed with its sides and Bow (watercraft), bow made of Inflatable, flexible tubes containing pressurised gas. For smaller boats, the floor and Hull (watercraft), hull are often flexible, while for boats longer than , the floor typically consists of three to five rigid plywood or aluminium sheets fixed between the tubes, but not joined rigidly together. Often the Transom (nautical), transom is rigid, providing a location and structure for mounting an outboard motor. Some inflatable boats can be disassembled and packed into a small volume, so that they can be easily stored and transported. The boat, when inflated, is kept rigid cross-ways by a foldable removable thwart. This feature makes these boats suitable for Lifeboat (shipboard), liferafts for larger boats or aircraft, and for travel or recreational purposes. History Early attempts There are ancient carved images of animal skins filled with air being used as one-man floats to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jumping Castle
Inflatable castles (also called bouncy houses, bouncy castles, jumping castles, moon bounces, moonwalks, or closed inflatable trampolines) are temporary inflatable structures and buildings and similar items. They are rented for backyard and block party functions, school and church festivals and fete, village fetes and used for recreational purposes. The growth in the use of such devices has led to a rental industry that includes inflatable slides, inflatable water slides, obstacle courses, and giant games, carnival games, and more. Inflatable castles have been suggested as having some therapeutic value for children with certain sensory impairments, similar to ball pits. History American engineer John Scurlock is credited as inventor of the modern inflatable tent design, in 1958. Scurlock, a plastics specialist who taught at Tulane University and worked for NASA, later also invented the Space Walk safety air cushion used by stunt performers and fire brigades responding to high-r ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Inflatable Space Habitat
Inflatable habitats or expandable habitats are pressurized tent-like structures capable of supporting life in outer space whose internal volume increases after launch. They have frequently been proposed for use in space applications to provide a greater volume of living space for a given mass. The first formal design and manufacture of an inflatable space habitat was in 1961 with a space station design produced by Goodyear (although this design was never flown). A proposal released in 1989 by Johnson Space Center's Man Systems Division outlined a diameter spherical habitat lunar outpost which was partially buried in the lunar surface. An inflatable module called TransHab (a portmanteau of ''Trans Habitation'') was proposed for the International Space Station, and later the private company Bigelow Aerospace revived the design for use in a number of potential civil and commercial applications. Construction The construction of an inflatable space habitat is determined by i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Airbag
An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate in milliseconds during a collision and then deflate afterwards. It consists of an airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. The purpose of the airbag is to provide a vehicle occupant with soft cushioning and restraint during a collision. It can reduce injuries between the flailing occupant and the vehicle's interior. The airbag provides an energy-absorbing surface between the vehicle's occupants and a steering wheel, instrument panel, body pillar, headliner, and windshield. Modern vehicles may contain up to ten airbag modules in various configurations, including driver, passenger, side-curtain, seat-mounted, door-mounted, B- and C-pillar mounted side-impact, knee bolster, inflatable seat belt, and pedestrian airbag modules. During a crash, the vehicle's crash sensors provide crucial information to the airbag electronic controller unit (ECU), including colli ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lifeboat (shipboard)
A lifeboat or liferaft is a small, rigid or inflatable boat carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard a ship. Lifeboat drills are required by law on larger commercial ships. Rafts (raft, liferafts) are also used. In the military, a lifeboat may double as a whaleboat, dinghy, or Captain's gig, gig. The ship's tenders of cruise ships often double as lifeboats. Recreational sailors usually carry inflatable liferafts, though a few prefer small proactive lifeboats that are harder to sink and can be sailed to safety. Inflatable lifeboats may be equipped with auto-inflation (carbon dioxide or nitrogen) canisters or mechanical pumps. A quick release and pressure release mechanism is fitted on ships so that the canister or pump automatically inflates the lifeboat, and the lifeboat breaks free of the sinking vessel. Commercial aircraft are also required to carry auto-inflating liferafts in case of an emergency water landing; offshore oil platforms also have life ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Raft
A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barrels, or inflated air chambers (such as pontoons), and are typically not propelled by an engine. Rafts are an ancient mode of transport; naturally-occurring rafts such as entwined vegetation and pieces of wood have been used to traverse water since the dawn of humanity. Human-made rafts Traditional or primitive rafts were constructed of wood, bamboo or reeds; early buoyed or float rafts use inflated animal skins or sealed clay pots which are lashed together. Modern float rafts may also use pontoons, drums, or extruded polystyrene blocks. Depending on its use and size, it may have a superstructure, masts, or rudders. Timber rafting is used by the logging industry for the transportation of logs, by tying them together into rafts and d ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tire
A tire (North American English) or tyre (Commonwealth English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineering), traction on the surface over which the wheel travels. Most tires, such as those for automobiles and bicycles, are pneumatically inflated structures, providing a flexible cushion that absorbs shock as the tire rolls over rough features on the surface. Tires provide a footprint, called a contact patch, designed to match the vehicle's weight and the bearing on the surface that it rolls over by exerting a pressure that will avoid deforming the surface. The materials of modern pneumatic tires are synthetic rubber, natural rubber, fabric, and wire, along with carbon black and other chemical compounds. They consist of a tire tread, tread and a body. The tread provides Traction (engineering), traction while the body provides containment for a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Balloon (aircraft)
In aeronautics, a balloon is an unpowered aerostat, which remains aloft or floats due to its buoyancy. A balloon may be free, moving with the wind, or Moored balloon, tethered to a fixed point. It is distinct from an airship, which is a powered aerostat that can propel itself through the air in a controlled manner. Many balloons have a basket, gondola (airship), gondola, or capsule suspended beneath the main envelope for carrying people or equipment (including cameras and telescopes, and flight-control mechanisms). Aerostation Aerostation is an obsolete term referring to ballooning and the construction, operation, and navigation of lighter-than-air vehicles. Tiberius Cavallo's ''The History and Practice of Aerostation'' was published in 1785. Other books were published on the subject including by Thomas Monck Mason, Monck Mason. Dramatist Frederick Pilon wrote a play with aerostation as its title. Principles A balloon is conceptually the simplest of all flying machines. The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Outboard Motor
An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method of propelling small watercraft. As well as providing propulsion, outboards provide steering control, as they are designed to pivot over their mountings and thus control the direction of thrust. The skeg also acts as a rudder when the engine is not running. Unlike inboard motors, outboard motors can be easily removed for storage or repairs. In order to eliminate the chances of hitting bottom with an outboard motor, the motor can be tilted up to an elevated position either electronically or manually. This helps when traveling through shallow waters where there may be debris that could potentially damage the motor as well as the propeller. If the electric motor required to move the pistons which raise or lower the engine is malfunction ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thwart
A thwart is a part of an undecked boat that provides seats for the crew and structural rigidity for the hull. A thwart goes from one side of the hull to the other. There may be just one thwart in a small boat, or many in a larger boat, especially if several oarsmen need to be accommodated. General description A thwart is a part of a boat that usually has two functions: as a seat, and as a structural member that provides some rigidity to the hull. A thwart goes from one side of the hull to the other in an open (undecked) boat, and therefore resists forces pushing in or pulling out the sides of the hull. More obviously it provides a seat for an occupant of a boat. In many sailing boats, a thwart may help support the mast. This can be done either by inserting the mast through a hole in the thwart (with the end resting in a mast step on the keel), or the mast may be clamped to one side of a thwartthis makes it easier to step and unstep the mast whilst afloat. Under oars In a boat p ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Barrage Balloon
A barrage balloon is a type of airborne barrage, a large uncrewed tethered balloon used to defend ground targets against aircraft attack, by raising aloft steel cables which pose a severe risk of collision with hostile aircraft, making the attacker's approach difficult and hazardous. Early barrage balloons were often spherical. The kite balloon, having a shape and cable bridling that stabilizes the balloon and reduces drag, could be operated at higher wind speeds than a spherical balloon. Some examples carried small explosive charges that would be pulled up against the aircraft to ensure its destruction. Barrage balloons are not practical at higher altitudes due in large part to the cable's weight. First World War France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom used barrage balloons in the First World War. While the French and German forces developed kite balloons, early British barrage balloons were spherical. Sometimes, especially around London, several balloons were used t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |