Float

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Since the mid-19th century. Hollow glass beads were used as floats for fishing nets used

A floating body or buoyancy body is an object which, due to its buoyancy by displacement according to the Archimedean principle, can swim independently. Although ships also fall under this definition, strictly speaking, the term is used more for smaller items such as life jackets , buoys , tug decoys or float switches . Floats that do not consist of a material that can float on their own (such as wood or cork ) are hollow and often filled with air or with a light solid , usually a plastic foam that is as closed as possible.

Floats

Floating parts of larger objects (for example a dinghy ) are also referred to as floats. In many smaller boats, cavities are filled with closed- bubble PU foam so that they cannot fill up even if the hull is damaged. Often, however, floats are also purely hollow bodies.

Plastic floating bodies made of polyethylene are often used for jetties, floating platforms and pontoon boats . A nearly unsinkable construction is obtained by stringing together several individual floating bodies. The colors and wall thicknesses of the floating bodies are variable; the geometry of the floating body is only linked to the respective shape (tool). Plastic floats are resistant to most acids, oils and fuels. The underwater growth can be removed very easily.

In rainwater tanks , only the clean surface water is sucked in through a floating suction hose or strainer . The same principle can also be used in heating oil tanks to avoid the oil sludge .

The term buoyancy body is also used in aircraft and denotes those components that contribute to lift, mostly aerodynamically . The term is used in particular when there is no clear separation between the wing and the fuselage, for example when various components are involved in aerodynamic lift, such as the stub wings of helicopters .

Buoyancy devices in both net and line fishing are called floats and are used to hold the net or line including hooks and bait and weights at a desired depth below the water surface.

Floating ball

Floating balls are used in large numbers as a floating ceiling for open container systems in order to:

  • To reduce evaporation losses and heat radiation / heat loss in heated swimming pools
  • To bind acid vapors that arise during the electrolysis of metals
  • To reduce exposure to light / UV radiation in order to prevent algae growth
  • To reduce oxidation of photo developer fluid by atmospheric oxygen in open containers
  • The covered area remains closed, flexible and open for material removal and filling even with rising and falling liquid levels
  • Block odors (like in sewage treatment plants)

See also

Individual evidence

  1. Picture of black plastic balls (picture no. 15) The creation of carcinogenic bromine is to be prevented by sun protection in the storage basin. Caption: Department of Water and Power workers are emptying out bales of plastic balls in the Ivanhoe reservoir in Los Angeles on Monday, June 9, 2008. Department of Water and Power released about 400,000 black plastic 4-inch balls as the first installment of approximately 3 million to form a floating cover over 7 acres of the reservoir to protect the water from sunlight. When sunlight mixes with the bromide and chlorine in Ivanhoe's water, the carcinogen bromate can form.