Uses for Springs #2: Springs in Recreation
The basic concept of a spring could not be simpler. Manufactured from just a single wire, springs are ingenious pieces of equipment that have proved vital in the construction of many of the world's foremost mechanisms. Nevertheless many other purposes for springs have also achieved widespread use, despite being perhaps a little more light hearted in function.
A popular spring powered device used in the recreational and sporting industries is the trampoline. Seemingly uncomplicated in nature, trampolines nonetheless make use of many coiled springs, with competitive level models possessing as many as 110 springs within their frames. Common misconceptions often presume upon the elasticity of the trampoline bed, but in actual fact all the elasticity in a trampoline stems from the springs that are connected to the frame. These springs store the potential energy required to provide a rebounding force, and can come in a variety of shapes including circular, octagonal or even rectangular designs.
Another recreational use for the spring has been the popular 'slinky' children's toy. Essentially consisting of just a helical spring, a slinky is commonly used to perform a number of tricks involving stretching and bouncing. When set in motion upon a staircase, energy is transferred along its longitudinal wave, causing the spring to somersault end over end down each step. Despite its frivolous nature, slinky toys have seen use in educational environments to simulate waves, and have even been used as mobile radio antennas or in anti gravity physics experiments.
The popularity of the pogo stick has waxed and waned over the years. However whatever the given publicity levels may be at any one time, a pogo stick always needs a compression spring to function. When the operator jumps upon the pogo stick, energy is transferred to the spring at the base of the device. When the spring is fully extended or contracted, the operator is lifted into the air by the force of the spring's recoil. The user can also steer the direction of a pogo stick by shifting their weight away from the centreline of the spring in order to achieve horizontal locomotion. Pogo sticks are currently gaining in popularity due to the invention of Xpogo; an action sport involving acrobatics performed on extreme pogo sticks.
Here at European Springs we seek to supply our customers with a wide variety of high quality springs. All of our spring designs are adapted for use in any industry, and are specially made to suit each individual customer's requirements. We take pride in our product range and are always striving to offer the best customer service available whilst maintaining competitive prices. Be sure to like our European Springs Facebook page to keep up to date with all our company news.
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