Difference between revisions of "Foam"
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====Open Cell==== | ====Open Cell==== | ||
| − | Open cell foam has cells that are open, and so squish far more readily than a closed cell-type foam. It's a softer feel on the whole. Some open cell | + | Open cell foam has cells that are open, and so squish far more readily than a closed cell-type foam. It's a softer feel on the whole. Some open cell foam will spring back very readily; some retains the indent for some time while air works its way back into the cells. On the whole, Amtgard has more uses for open cell foam that springs back readily than foam that remains squished for some length of time. |
Open cell foam can be found in things and places like: couch cushions, cheaper all-foam mattresses, certain pillows, some types of doodgeballs, craft sections of stores that also work in upholstery, and stress or yard balls. | Open cell foam can be found in things and places like: couch cushions, cheaper all-foam mattresses, certain pillows, some types of doodgeballs, craft sections of stores that also work in upholstery, and stress or yard balls. | ||
Revision as of 20:52, 31 January 2008
N. That which you sling.
Glenalths Sword Forge.
"Foam? Shit, we didn't get foam until the late 90's. Before that we used damp pillows, soaked in napalm and wrapped around a depleted uranium core. Held together with barbed wire and ABC gum. And we LIKED it, goddammit."-Luke
Contents
Notes on Foam
The most general definition of foam is a substance that is formed by trapping many gas bubbles in a liquid or solid. It can also refer to anything that is analogous to such a phenomenon, such as quantum foam. Often people mean polyurethane foam (foam rubber), Styrofoam or some other manufactured foam when they are using the term. It can be considered a type of colloid.
From the early 20th century, various types of specially manufactured solid foams came into use. The low density of these foams made them excellent as thermal insulators and flotation devices, and their lightness and compressibility made them ideal as packing materials and stuffings. Some liquid foams, called fire retardant foams, found use in extinguishing fires, especially oil fires.
Foaming around the mouth can be a symptom of rabies in animals. The term sea foam is used to describe the foam that forms on top of seawater from the action of waves. In some ways, leavened bread is a foam, as the yeast causes the bread to rise by producing tiny bubbles of gas in the dough.
Foam in Amtgard History
In the beginning, there was the couch, heaving with off white goodness, urning to give birth to the swords of the future. Couch foam was what is called an "Open Cell" foam. Very squishy, but tended to mold when it took on water. In the Kingdom of the Burning Lands and spreading outward to early kingdoms, this foam remained in use for nearly 6 years, and some chapters even use it today.
"I used to scavenge it from discarded couches we would find out in the desert. It would be held down by scads of duct-tape and the core would be covered by pipe insulation." -Kurse
Advancements cam slowly with players forging territory through, Carpet foam, Egg Crate Foam, and the new camp pad. Camp pad for was popular several reasons, a big one being because it could easily be fashioned into flat blades. It came in convenient rolls and had less tendency to take on liquids.
"camp pad is easy to work with, and it was easily accessible all year round, and it was durable. The downsides were the weight and general unfriendliness of it, but if everyone was using it it was no real problem. I got into the game late, bluefoam was on it's way out and noodle had been used for a while at that point, as my first weapons went from noodle and pvc to noodle and graphite pretty quickly.
I guess I am kind of going backwards in tech now, using MC and bluefoam as my foam, rather than noodle."-Maxam
Nowadays the consensus seems to be that Fun Noodle is the way and the light. Though there are many adherents to MC Technology. While Funoodle is popular because it is cheap, easy to use and easy to find, MC more expensive and more difficult to locate. But, MC succeeds where Funoodle fails, in that while more expensive is also much longer lasting.
Open Cell
Open cell foam has cells that are open, and so squish far more readily than a closed cell-type foam. It's a softer feel on the whole. Some open cell foam will spring back very readily; some retains the indent for some time while air works its way back into the cells. On the whole, Amtgard has more uses for open cell foam that springs back readily than foam that remains squished for some length of time.
Open cell foam can be found in things and places like: couch cushions, cheaper all-foam mattresses, certain pillows, some types of doodgeballs, craft sections of stores that also work in upholstery, and stress or yard balls.
Open cell foam can be expensive, and it can also be the cehapest foam available (free). Purchased new from craft stores in blocks of various sizes, it is moderately expensive. Scrounged from a tossed out mattress or couch, and it's free.
Open cell foam is often not a good foam for stress-bearing applications. Using it as a stand-alone hammer head, for example, can result in the foam slowly breaking down its grip on the core through shock and vibrations. To be done right, an impact weapon made solely with open-cell foam must have a lot of support from tape and the cover. It can suffer from added weight when exposed to water as it can absorb much more than it's own weight (sponges are, after all, open-cell foam). Open cell is also not very useful on it's own in many applications. Swords made only with open cell foam will often be unusable, as the core can be felt through the foam with mild compression. Arrows, too, are notorious for being dangerous when made with only uncompressed open-cell foam.
Open cell foam is excellent, though, for its shock-absorbing qualities. When coupled with compressed open-cell foam (as with some arrows), or closed cell foam (melee weapons and some arrows), it takes much of the slap and sting out of a weapon. It is also useful as shield padding, especially over a thin layer of a closed-cell foam. Open-cell foam is also very useful for spellballs, various throwing weapons, and boulders. Boulders can be as simple as bits of open-cell foam stuffed in a pillow case. With the right color, the lumpy sack of foam is easily distinguished as a boulder.
