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Bong

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A hand-blown glass bong

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

File:Bong.JPG
typical bong

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 you 'bubble' a glass of milk with a drinking straw, by placing the straw beneath the surface of the milk and blowing, you are demonstrating the same physics, except that you 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

The characteristics of the bong enable the material to be smoked in ways not possible with a simple pipe or spliff. Because the chamber on most bongs can be up to 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter the speed of the air moving through the chamber is reduced and the chamber now acts as a large buffer of smoke. Depending on the length of the bong a considerable amount of smoke can be built up in this way. On the larger bongs, about 4 ft (1.2 m) tall, the operator must stop drawing on the bong when the smoke reaches their lips. At this point the operator must exhale deeply, open the carb, and use the entire contents of their lungs to clear the chamber of the charge of smoke. This high concentration of smoke in the lungs enables the operator to transfer much higher quantities of the chemicals in the smoke into their lungs but also tends to waste large amounts of the smoke. The longer the operator can hold the hit in the more chemicals he will extract from it but this becomes more difficult as the smoke gets more dense and the quantity increases. Individuals in the Cannabis culture who can hold in a monster hit are typically held in high regard.

File:063pipe1.jpeg
The NORML-MAPS smoke analysis apparatus.

Bubbling the smoke through water also 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. Most smokers believe that bongs are healthier than other smoking devices; however, a 2000 NORML-MAPS study found that "waterpipes filter out more psychoactive THC than they do other tars, thereby requiring users to smoke more to reach their desired effect"[1]. The analysis used smoke from NIDA-supplied marijuana drawn through a smoking machine adjusted to mimic the puff length of marijuana smokers. The apparatus, comparing smoke from a standard bong, a small portable device with a folding pipestem, a battery-operated model with a motorized paddle to thoroughly mix the smoke in the water, and two different types of vaporizers, found that the unfiltered joint outperformed all devices except the vaporizers, with a ratio of about 1 part cannabinoids to 13 parts tar.

Materials

Bongs have been constructed out of many different materials, often improvised from simple household items like soda cans and garden hoses, as well as certain fruits and vegetables such as apples and gourds. A very common and convenient household item is PVC piping. 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.

Differences and clarifications

File:Bongs.png
Bongs (water pipes)

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. The speed of inhalation can be increased by sealing the inhalation hole with the mouth and resubmerging the bong in a body of water, thereby increasing pressure inside the bong.

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.

There are several varieties of US patents on water pipes and bongs.

Innovations

Designs

These include ornamental designs for smoking pipes, substantially as shown and described.

See also

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