Friday, August 10, 2018

Do Not Skydive Without An Emergency Parachute

By Stephanie Jones


Man first noticed that air resistance slowed down the movement of an object falling down from the sky. This was about four thousand years ago. There is folklore that an individual once was pursued by an angry father and climb on top of a structure. With nowhere else to go the person grabbed to large bamboo hats and jumped to safety. Today pilots would be foolhardy not to own an emergency parachute.

Even in ancient times the creature called man had the capacity to exploit what was present in the environment. The large brain developed over eons of evolution and the capacity to think became enhance. This led to tool making. The earliest known tools were made of broken rock whose sharpened edges were used to cut meat.

Sharpened stone adzes have been discovered around bone remains of what used to be hunted animals. This is proof that hominids intentionally cut rock edges to make shear through soft tissue. At a later date, handles were attached to the adzes which now became hand axes. The added handle provided more torque and force when wielded with extended arms.

Human beings are adventurers and it finds ways to satisfy its curiosity. When it first looked up at the skies envied the birds in flight. It dreamed of being able to fly and glide into the air as effortlessly as the avian. Jumping from high cliffs and into the sea must have given it a thrill almost like that of flying. The problem was that it could not be sustained.

Efforts were made to copy bird motion in full flight. Observations were made on how the legs, the wings, and the tail behaved while flying. But all this came to naught as the force needed to escape the gravitational pull of the earth needed to have a more powerful source and this came with the creation of internally fired engines.

Contraptions that were heavier than air could not really fly, but with technological innovations, the rudimentary design married to an engine did manage to fly during the first decade of the twentieth century. Aerodynamics has come to the fore that made studies about air flows and the effects it had on surfaces. The wings of an airplane are designed to maximize the air passage to produce lift.

Continuous technological breakthroughs have made possible the production of the modern aircraft, both the fixed wing and the rotary winged. Composite materials are now used to form parts of an airplane. The most common material though is aluminum. Airplanes have redundant systems so much so that the risk of crashes is very minimal. But when it happens a safety gadget has to be on hand.

The modern chute descended from a crude device made of wooden spokes hooded by fabric. Legend has it that the umbrella was the first form of chute and this happened when a man jumped of a building to safety using bamboo umbrella. The veracity of this legend cannot be proven though. Nevertheless the chute does resemble an umbrella.

Para gliding is a fun sport that enthusiast enjoy. Some jump off cliffs and glide away with the air currents. These have controls that are harnessed to a person who pulls and tugs at it. Others prefer to jump out of airplanes in groups and form magnificent aerial maneuvers. With people can now land safely on two feet. The main material used for chutes is silk.




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