Inflatable

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An inflatable is an object that can be inflated, usually with air, but hydrogen, helium and nitrogen are also used. The advantage 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.

Typical examples of an inflatable include the inflatable boat, the balloon, the airship and numerous air-filled swimming pool toys.

Smaller-scale inflatables (such as pool toys) generally consist of one or more "air chambers", which are hollow enclosures bound by a soft and flexible airtight material (such as vinyl), which a gas can enter into or leave from through valves (usually one on each air chamber). The design dependence upon an enclosed pocket of gas leads to a need for a very durable surface material and/or ease of repair of tears and holes on the material, since a puncture or tear will result in the escape of the gas inside (a leak) and the deflation of the inflatable, which depends on the gas's pressure to hold its form. Detectable leaks can be caused by holes (from punctures or tears) on the material, the separating of seams, the separating of valve parts, or an improperly shut or improperly closing valve. Even if an inflatable possesses no macroscopic leaks, the gas inside will usually diffuse out of the inflatable, albeit at a much slower rate, until equilibrium is reached with the pressure outside the inflatable.

Most inflatables are made of material that does not stretch upon inflation; a notable exception of this is the balloon, whose rubber stretches greatly when inflated.

The airship is usually inflated with helium as it is lighter than air and does not burn unlike hydrogen airships such as the Hindenburg.

Inflatables are also used for the construction of specific sports pitches. Bossaball for example relies heavily on inflatables for bouncing, in addition to trampolines.

The DVD Ant Farm has directions for making your own inflatables, using plastic bags and an iron.

Large scale inflatables are often seen at festivals as decorations or inflatable games. These are made out of rip stop nylon and have a constant flow of air from a blower inflating them.

[edit] Inflatable Games

The original inflatable game was the Moonwalk (bounce house). Today we have a wide variety of inflatable games that come in all shapes and sizes. Many inflatable games put you in head to head competition with another person. Inflatables like the bungee run and touchdown equalizer puts your strength against your competitor. The gladiator joust (in which you use a pugil stick to knock your competitor off a platform) and boxing (bouncy boxing) also come in inflatable form. There are also several inflatable obstacle courses available. Because of their large size, most obstacle courses consist of two or more inflatables connected together.

There are also several variations on sports games which are made portable thanks to inflatables. A sports cage is an inflatable cage that holds up a backdrop that resembles a sport (e.g. baseball, football, soccer, golf) in which you throw, toss, hit or kick a ball at a marked spot on the backdrop. The cage not only holds the backdrop but keeps balls from flying everywhere. Some sports cages come with a radar gun that will tell you the speed of your throw or kick.