How a Life Jacket Works

How a Professional Life Jacket Works

Ensuring everyone's safety during a pleasure trip is as important as providing a satisfying and unforgettable experience.

Through this article, we will show you how important the life jacket is, for your safety and that of yours.

How much do Life Jackets cost?

Although the price can vary depending on the brands, from $ 250 to $ 1,500 or more, however there are used life jackets for sale, which in good condition, if you do not have the budget, it will be worth acquiring them to risk not using one.

Every time a trip is undertaken and it includes the sea, pool or rivers, you should know how important it is to know how a life jacket works, the correct way to wear it and its great advantage of being able to save your life, whether it is a man or a woman. , child, adult or infant.

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The Life Vest

People since ancient times have always looked for a way to float on water; for this they have used: animal skins, some parts of wooden boats or different pieces made of cork; among others.

However, many of these materials, rather than helping to float, have caused accidents.

These disasters have caused the manufacture and design of life jackets to be perfected and increased.

In fact, its use has become essential, which is already considered as rigorous safety equipment, in jobs, watersports , travel not only by boat but in aircraft.

Let's know some facts ...

In 2006, two-thirds of the people in the United States who suffered a boat accident
drowned, most unfortunately not wearing a life jacket.

Determining the number of lives that floats can save is impossible, however, it is a fact that you will have a better chance of surviving an accident in the water, even more so, if you do not know how to swim.

As Fdo you put a life jacket on?

Most people think of the big and bulky orange vest, but there are different types of flotation devices that can be used.

It can be hard to imagine how something so light can keep a person afloat.

What makes life jackets float? How do life buoys do this?

We are going to see some aspects that allow us to understand how life jackets do not sink and float. 

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Archimedes Principle

It tells us that when an object is submerged in water, it moves or moves in the water according to its weight. Archimedes found that the water will exert an upward push against the object with a force equal to the weight of the moving water.

The density

It states that the amount of water displaced is determined by the density of the object.

Density is the measure of mass in an object, related to its volume.

A bowling ball and a beach ball may have the same volume, but the bowling ball weighs much more and is much denser than the beach ball.

When that heavy, solid bowling ball falls into the water, the water pushes it with a force equal to the weight of the water that splashed it. The ball weighs more than the amount of water it "splashed" on, and it will sink.

The beach ball, meanwhile, displaces very little water, and the air inside it is much lighter than the weight of the water that was displaced.

The buoyant force from below keeps the beach ball afloat. If you tried to push the beach ball down from the water, the thrust force you would feel is the floating force of the water at work.

Objects that displace an amount of liquid equal to their weight will float, because they receive that upward push from the water. 

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Buoyancy

Buoyancy is the upward force we need from the water to keep us above the surface, and it is measured by weight.

Floating forces are the reason why we feel so much lighter when we are in a pool or bathtub.

Our bodies are mostly water, so the density of a person is quite close to that of water, because of this, an average person needs only seven to 12 pounds of additional buoyancy to float. A life jacket provides this additional lift.

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The Material of the Life Jacket

The outside of a lifejacket is almost always made of nylon or vinyl, and the material inside a lifejacket traps air when the lifejacket is submerged.

The trapped air weighs much less than the weight of the water it displaces (let's remember the example of the beach ball), so the water exerts a pushing force to the vest upwards, than the lifejacket downwards, this is finally allowing the vest to remain floating.

On the market you can find life-saving floats that inflate, thanks to a carbon dioxide gas capsule that is attached to the same vest. The mechanism of action is simple, once it is executed, the gas is released and it will fill the entire internal space of the vest.

Some models do not need to be activated, as the gas is automatically triggered when the vest is submerged in water. The mechanism that activates it is usually a soluble plug.

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Use and Operation of the Life Jacket for children

For the proper use and operation of the life jacket you must take into account the following:

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• All passengers on a boat, boat or any water transport, must properly put on life jackets and use them whenever they are near bodies of water. 
• The vests should always be put on according to the instructions for use and with the belts properly fastened.

• Children's floats such as wings, toys, rafts, and inflatable mattresses, they should never be used to replace life jackets.  These do not provide the necessary security.
• The life jackets are individual.
• Children should wear life jackets commensurate with their weight.
• It is important to ensure that each person has a life jacket that fits their size and size.

Knowing how a life jacket works and knowing the importance of its use will help you enjoy pleasant and safe trips.

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