Parachute
A parachute refers to a device which slows down the vertical descent of a body which falls through the atmosphere. The way parachutes works have amazed people for years. Students can learn how a parachute works here:
What is Parachute?
A Parachute is a device that slows down an object’s motion. An object which is falling through an atmosphere by creating drag. It is made out of light, strong fabric.
Furthermore, this fabric was originally silk, but now it is mostly nylon. Moreover, they mostly have a dome shape. However, they can also be rectangles, inverted domes, and others found.
There can be an attachment of a variety of loads to parachutes, which include people, food, equipment, bombs, and space capsules.
The earliest evidence which exists for modern parachutes dates back to the Renaissance period. The invention of modern parachutes was in the 18th century by a man with the name of Louis-Sébastien Lenormand.
Parts of a Parachute
The design of parachutes is for one fundamental purpose. This purpose is to slow the gravity-driven fall of an object, for example, a person.
Parachutes do so by taking advantage of atmospheric drag. Atmospheric drag refers to a physical quantity that to engineers is mostly a nuisance rather than a boon.
The greater the drag of a parachute would mean more slowly an object attached to that parachute descends to Earth. Furthermore, a parachute would not work in a vacuum. This is because it would have no molecules of air to pull against.
The main part of a parachute is certainly a canopy. Moreover, this canopy balloons outwards as the payload begins to falls. Most noteworthy, the canopy’s shape is the most important determinant of a parachute’s behaviour.
Round Behaviour
The earliest round parachutes were circular when they were flattened out. This made them quite unstable in action as there was resistance in the formation of a dome shape. Consequently, a huge number of fatal injuries were the result because of that.
Later on, came the military-build round parachutes. These were much better in their work efficiency because they were parabolic in shape.
Furthermore, some round parachutes are not steerable. Therefore, they cannot be effectively controlled and travel in accordance with the prevailing wind conditions.
Steerable round parachutes consist of holes cut in the edges of their canopies. This allows their passengers to exert a greater degree of landing control. There is the frequent use of round parachutes in medical missions and in dropping military cargo.
Common Designs
The original round and conical parachute have been replaced by the ram-air or parafoil parachute. This type of chute certainly has a self-inflating canopy.
Consequently, it creates a much larger drag force resistance on deployment in comparison to a round model. Furthermore, its terminal velocity is obviously slower.
Ribbon or ring parachutes are suitable for fliers in aircraft travelling at supersonic speeds. These parachutes have holes built into the canopy which reduces the pressure to which we subject the material to. Furthermore, these holes are not large enough.
Solved Question For You
Q1 Which of the following is not true with regards to parachute?
A. It refers to a device which slows down the motion of an object falling through an atmosphere
B. It slows the motion by taking advantage of atmospheric drag.
C. The main part of a parachute is certainly a canopy
D. The round parachutes are suitable for fliers in aircraft travelling at supersonic speeds
A1 The correct option is D., which is “the round parachutes are suitable for fliers in aircraft travelling at supersonic speeds.” This is because; it is the “ribbon or ring parachutes that are suitable for fliers in aircraft travelling at supersonic speeds.
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