String (structure)
String is a long flexible structure made from fibers twisted together into a single strand, or from multiple such strands which are in turn twisted together. String is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects. It is also used as a material to make things, such as textiles, and in arts and crafts. String is a simple tool, and its use by humans is known to have been developed tens of thousands of years ago.[1] In Mesoamerica, for example, string was invented some 20,000 to 30,000 years ago, and was made by twisting plant fibers together.[1] String may also be a component in other tools, and in devices as diverse as weapons, musical instruments, and toys.
History
String was used in prehistoric times to make fire, as part of a drilling tool called the
Macramé comes from a 13th-century Arabic weavers’ word migramah meaning “fringe”. This refers to the decorative fringes on camels and horses which help, amongst other things, to keep the flies off the animal in the hot desert regions of northern Africa. One of the earliest recorded uses of macramé style knots as decoration appeared in the carvings of the Babylonians and Assyrians. Fringe-like plaiting and braiding adorned the costumes of the time and were captured in their stone statuary.
Types
There are many types of string, adapted to many uses. Here are some examples:
Twine
Yarn
Thread
Thread is a type of yarn used for sewing. Thread is made from a wide variety of materials. The following table lists common materials, a general description and what they are supposed to be good for. If your machine will sew with the thread, any thread can be used for just about any purpose. This is very useful for someone who is trying to learn sewing. However, it should be remembered that where a thread is stronger than the material that it is being used to join, if seams are placed under strain the material may tear before the thread breaks. Garments are usually sewn with threads of lesser strength than the fabric so that if stressed the seam will break before the garment. Heavy goods that must withstand considerable stresses such as upholstery, car seating, tarpaulins, tents, and saddlery require very strong threads. Attempting repairs with light weight thread will usually result in rapid failure, though again, using a thread that is stronger than the material being sewn can end up causing rips in that material before the thread itself gives way.
Bowstring
A
Drawstring
A drawstring (draw string, draw-string) is a string, cord, lace, or rope used to "draw" (gather, or shorten) fabric or other material. The ends of the drawstring may be tied to hold it in place (and/or simultaneously close an opening). Alternately, the drawstring may be kept drawn using a cordlock. Typically, the drawstring is loose when not being used, and tightened when needed during use.
Pullstring
A pullstring (pull string, pull-string), pullcord (pull cord, pull-cord), or pullchain (pull-chain, pull chain) is a string, cord, or chain wound on a spring-loaded spindle that engages a mechanism when it is pulled. It is most commonly used in toys and motorized equipment. More generally and commonly, a pullstring can be any type of string, cord, rope, chain, or cable attached to an object in some way used to pull or mechanically manipulate part of it.
Shoestrings
Strings on musical instruments
In music, a
The invention of wound strings, such as nylon covered in wound metal, was a crucial step in string instrument technology, because a metal-wound string can produce a lower pitch than a catgut string of similar thickness. This enabled stringed instruments to be made with less thick bass strings. On string instruments that the player plucks or bows directly (e.g.,
Tennis strings
In tennis, the strings are the part of a tennis racquet which make contact with the ball. The strings form a woven network inside the head (or "hoop") of the racquet. Strings have been made with a variety of materials and possess varying properties that have been measured, such as dynamic stiffness, tension retention, thickness (gauge), string texture (shape of the string), and rebound efficiency.[8]
Further uses and applications
Chalk line
A chalk line or chalk box is a tool for marking long, straight lines on relatively flat surfaces, much farther than is practical by hand or with a straightedge. It is an important tool in construction and carpentry, the working of timber in a rough and unplaned state, as it does not require the timber to have a straight or squared edge formed onto it beforehand. A chalk line draws straight lines by the action of a taut nylon or similar string that has been previously coated with a loose dye, usually chalk. The string is then laid across the surface to be marked and pulled tight. Next, the string is then plucked or snapped sharply, causing the string to strike the surface, which then transfers its chalk to the surface along that straight line where it struck.
Cloth
A
Clothes line
A clothes line or washing line is any type of rope, cord, or twine that has been stretched between two points (e.g. two sticks), outside or indoors, above the level of the ground. Clothing that has recently been washed is hung along the line to dry, using clothes pegs or clothespins. Washing lines are attached either from a post or a wall, and are frequently located in back gardens, or on balconies. Longer washing lines often have props holding up sections in the middle due to the weight of the usually wet clothing.
Bead stringing
Bead stringing is the putting of beads on string. It can range from simply sliding a single bead onto any thread-like medium (string, silk thread, leather thong, thin wire, multi-stranded beading wire, or a soft, flexible wire) to complex creations that have multiple strands or interwoven levels. The choice of stringing medium can be an important point in the overall design, since string-type mediums might be subject to unwanted stretching if the weight of the beads is considerable. Similarly, certain bead types with sharp edges, such as hollow metal beads or some varieties of stone or glass, might abrade the string and cause the strand to eventually break.
Knot tying
A knot is a method of fastening or securing linear material such as string by tying or interweaving. It may consist of a length of one or several segments of string, twine, cord, strap, rope, or even chain interwoven such that the line can bind to itself or to some other object (the "load").
Macramé
Macramé or macrame is a form of textile-making using knotting rather than weaving or knitting. Its primary knots are the square knot (a variant of the reef knot) and forms of "hitching": full hitch and double half hitches. It was long crafted by sailors, especially in elaborate or ornamental knotting forms, to decorate anything from knife handles to bottles to parts of ships.
Plumb bob
A plumb bob, or plummet, is a weight, usually with a pointed tip on the bottom, suspended from a string and used as a vertical reference line, or plumb-line. It is essentially the vertical equivalent of a "water level".
String art
String art, or pin and thread art, is characterized by an arrangement of colored thread strung between points to form
String figures
A string figure is a design formed by manipulating string on, around, and using one's fingers or sometimes between the fingers of multiple people. String figures may also involve the use of the mouth, wrist, and feet. They may consist of singular images or be created and altered as a game, known as a string game, or as part of a story involving various figures made in sequence (string story).
String toys
Astrojax
Astrojax is a toy consisting of three balls on a string. One ball is fixed at each end of the string, and the center ball is free to slide along the string between the two end balls. Inside each ball is a metal weight. The metal weight lowers the moment of inertia of the center ball so it can rotate rapidly in response to torques applied by the string. This prevents the string from snagging or tangling around the center ball.
Yo-yo
A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy which in its simplest form is an object consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a length of string looped around the axle, similar to a slender spool. It is played by holding the free end of the string known as the handle (usually by inserting one finger into a slip knot) allowing gravity or the force of a throw to spin the yo-yo and unwind the string (similar to how a pullstring works), then allowing the yo-yo to wind itself back to one's hand, exploiting its spin (and the associated rotational energy). This is often called "yo-yoing". First made popular in the 1920s, yo-yoing remains a popular pastime of many generations and cultures. It was first invented in ancient Greece.
Weaving
See also
- Biggest ball of twine
- Cord (sewing)
- Kite
- Quipu
- Rope
- Stampede string– a long string usually made from leather or Human hair and typically run half-way around the crown of a cowboy hat
- String bag
Notes
- past participle of weave (Oxford English Dictionary, see "weft" and "weave".
References
- ^ a b Susan Toby Evans, David L. Webster, Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia (2013), p. 812.
- ISBN 978-1-58218-748-8.
- ISBN 0-300-10341-7.
- ISBN 978-93-5025-939-9.
- ^ "Yarn". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2012-05-25.
- ISBN 0-13-118769-4, p. 203
- ^ Design and Construction of Flight Bows - a supplement to "The Design and Construction of Composite Recurve Bows" by John Clark. Ausbow Industries, not dated
- ^ String Selector 2010, Racquet Sports Industry Magazine Archived 2010-10-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Textile". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2012-05-25.
- ^ "Cloth". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2012-05-25.
- ^ "An Introduction to Textile Terms" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 23, 2006. Retrieved August 6, 2006.
- ISBN 0-08-018057-4
- ^ Dooley, William H. (1914), Textiles (Project Gutenberg ed.), Boston, USA: D.C. Heath and Co., retrieved 30 October 2011
External links
- A Brief History of String, Fall 2006, Cabinetmagazine.