Bubble Wrap and Its Many Uses

For those of you who do not know what a bubble wrap is, it's a transparent plastic material used for wrapping fragile materials. The cushioning is provided with air filled plastic bubbles. As far as its history is concerned, bubble wrap was invented by Mark Chavannes and Alfred Fielding in the year 1957.

Let's take a look its design and uses.

Design

The size of the bubbles in the wrapping may vary according to the size of the commodity that needs to be packed. Smaller bubbles won't be effective in case of a bigger item. The level of cushioning depends a lot in the size of the bubble thus if the item to be packed is really fragile, then it's better to use a bubble wrapping with bigger hemispheres.

The general size of the bubbles varies for a quarter of an inch to a few inches. The intensity of shock that may be absorbed is directly proportional to the size of the bubble. To increase protection from shock, most commodities once carefully wrapped inside the bubble wrap are further enclosed inside a plastic covering.

Packing Electronic Goods

Bubble wrapping is the most appropriate method in this case. There are special types of wraps use to pack electronics goods. These wraps employ the use of anti static plastic material that repels static charges. This helps in protecting sensitive electronic chips which may get damaged due to static.

Other Uses

A Six feet long and three feet high bubble wrap sheet may come in handy while you are on a camping trip. You can make use of it as a mat and place it under the sleeping bag. Or else take a few bubble wrap sheets and paste them together using a duct tape and add extra cushioning to your sleeping bag.

You may be unaware of this but bubble wrapping technique is also use to protect eggs from breaking up. Citing this fact, a number of helmet makers have started using sturdy bubble wrap sheets to pack up the insides of the helmet to provide greater protection. Funny as it may sound, this really works!

A lot of people all over the world use bubble wrap sheets and place them under carpets and rugs near doors and windows. In case of a house break, the bubbles start to pop if someone, especially a burglar lands up on them. A homemade burglar alarm!

Amusement

Owing to the popping sound that a bubble wrapping sheet makes, a number of people use it as a source of amusement. Popping bubbles is a confirmed stress reliever for all. The craze for it is so much that a number of virtual bubble wrap websites have come up that provide bubble popping as a game.

This is all you will need to know about bubble wraps. Have fun