- For information on pipes used to transfer water and fluids, see plumbing and pipeline transport. For many other uses of the word, see pipe.
A water pipe or bong is a device used for smoking, usually cannabis (and less frequently tobacco), in which smoke is bubbled through a chamber containing water.
Operation
Principles of operation
The user inhales with their mouth sealed over an opening (1). This reduces the air pressure in the chamber(2) of the bong above the water level in the bottom of the bong(3). To equalize the pressure, the atmosphere pushes the heated air (from a flame) through the combustible matter in the bowl(4), forming smoke. The smoke then bubbles through the water, into the chamber and into the users mouth and lungs. For example, if one 'bubbles' a glass of milk with a drinking straw ('bubbling' is placing the straw beneath the surface of the milk and blowing), they are demonstrating the same physics but they are assuming the role of the atmosphere and not the bong user. Some bongs have a carb, a small hole that the user places his finger over when first inhaling allowing the chamber to fill up with smoke. When the user releases the carb while still inhaling fresh air is allowed to rush in through the hole "clearing" it of smoke.
Motivations for operation
Bubbling the smoke through water serves to cool down the smoke, which is typically very hot, and to trap some of the heavier and more water-soluble particulate matter, keeping it from entering the smoker's lungs.
Materials
Bongs have been constructed out of many different materials, often improvised from simple household items like soda cans and garden hoses. However, concern has arisen recently that PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastic piping, which is often used in bongs, may release poisonous dioxins when exposed to hot smoke.
While scientific research is scant, alternative materials that could be used instead of plastic are: glass, ceramics, stainless steel, or even bamboo, as all are much less likely to add to the harmful content of smoke. All metals can ionize or vaporize in sufficient heat, potentially transferring metal to the user's lungs. To date, metal-containing bongs have not been widely implicated as a source of heavy metal toxicity (the proposed link between aluminum and dementias is poorly founded, as protein aggregates seem to trap a wide range of metal ions, and aluminum is the most abundant metal in the Earth's crust).
Variety
Water pipes derive their heritage from the classical Arabic hookah, which was originally designed for smoking tobacco and other flavored smoke producing materials. Bongs differ from hookahs in that they are usually simpler, with a single mouthpiece on the water chamber rather than a hookah's one or more hoses.
Waterfall
Similar in design to the gravity bong, but somewhat simpler, is the waterfall bong, which may also sometimes be referred to as a gravity bong (although a bucket-style bong is seldom if ever referred to as a waterfall bong). A waterfall bong usually consists of a plastic bottle with a hole punched at the bottom, and a bowl on top in which cannabis can be placed. The hole is covered by a finger and the vessel is filled with water, then while holding a flame to the bowl, the finger is removed. Gravity causes the water to flow out, in a small waterfall, at a steady pace; and when the water is all gone the bowl is removed and the smoke is inhaled from the hole.
Its name can be somewhat confusing, because in fact any apparatus that holds water would be useless in a zero-gravity environment, because the liquid would no longer conform to the shape of its container.
Differences and clarifications
A gravity or waterfall bong, unlike a bong proper, does not necessarily filter the smoke through the water or cool it significantly (although they can be constructed to do so). It is simply a device whose main design feature is a large chamber in which the flow of smoke can be captured, making it easier to inhale a large amount of smoke quite quickly.
Gravity bong and waterfall bong usually refer only to bongs where there's a flow of smoke induced by a change in air pressure which is caused by the lowering of the level of the surface of the water held within the device. When the airflow is caused not by the flux of the water level but by the inhalation of the smoker's lungs, the device is referred to as a hookah, bong, bubbler, or more generally waterpipe.
Related patents
There are several varieties of patents on water pipes and bongs.
Innovations
- 4,253,475 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=4,253,475.WKU.&OS=PN/4,253,475&RS=PN/4,253,475) — Water pipes or bongs
- 4,148,326 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=4,148,326.WKU.&OS=PN/4,148,326&RS=PN/4,148,326) — Automatic loading bong
- 4,111,213 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=4,111,213.WKU.&OS=PN/4,111,213&RS=PN/4,111,213) — Smoking pipe
- 4,096,868 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=4,096,868.WKU.&OS=PN/4,096,868&RS=PN/4,096,868) — Smoking apparatus and methods of constructing and utilizing same
- 4,031,905 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=4,031,905.WKU.&OS=PN/4,031,905&RS=PN/4,031,905) — Smoking tube with check valve
- 4,031,904 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=4,031,904.WKU.&OS=PN/4,031,904&RS=PN/4,031,904) — Removable water tight base for bong
- 3,863,646 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=3,863,646.WKU.&OS=PN/3,863,646&RS=PN/3,863,646) — Smoking Device
Designs
These include ornamental designs for smoking pipes, substantially as shown and described.
- D443,950 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D443,950.WKU.&OS=PN/D443,950&RS=PN/D443,950) — Smoker's implement
- D443,103 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D443,103.WKU.&OS=PN/D443,103&RS=PN/D443,103) — Smokers's implement
- D442,327 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D442,327.WKU.&OS=PN/D442,327&RS=PN/D442,327) — Smoker's implement
- D381,116 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D381,116.WKU.&OS=PN/D381,116&RS=PN/D381,116) — Tobacco water pipe
- D368,325 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D368,325.WKU.&OS=PN/D368,325&RS=PN/D368,325) — Tobacco hookah
- D358,227 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D358,227.WKU.&OS=PN/D358,227&RS=PN/D358,227) — Tobacco hookah
- D261,439 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D261,439.WKU.&OS=PN/D261,439&RS=PN/D261,439) — Pipe
- D261,438 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D261,438.WKU.&OS=PN/D261,438&RS=PN/D261,438) — Pipe
- D256,506 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D256,506.WKU.&OS=PN/D256,506&RS=PN/D256,506) — Smoking device
- D246,391 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D246,391.WKU.&OS=PN/D246,391&RS=PN/D246,391) — Water cooled smoking device
- D244,473 (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=D244,473.WKU.&OS=PN/D244,473&RS=PN/D244,473) — Smoking pipe
See also
External links and references
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