We all love and know them. The question that bothers many is why bongs have become so popular among both seasoned and novice smokers. If you are also wondering why smoking your dry herb from the bong delivers cool and smooth hits, this article will serve you well. Every moment you are taking a hit, science is doing its magic to make your experience pleasurable. If you are looking for nitty-gritty on how does a bong work scientifically, this is the article for you. Do not worry about having missed some science classes. It is all simplified for you.
What Is a Bong?
If you are wondering what is a bong used for, a bong is one of the many ways of consuming herbal products, such as cannabis. Fundamentally, a bong is a filtering device, as a hookah. It comprises a single piece with a watertight bowl-stem as a water holder and attached with a draw pipe. The herb is placed at the topmost part of the stem, and users place their pipe on the mouth to inhale the resulting smoke that passes through water. Bongs range in color, sizes, shapes, and materials, such as plastic, wood, and bamboo.
The most common bongs are designed from hand-blown glass, where manufacturers focus on both function and design. There are cases of bongs being made from diamond and gold. Similarly, a bong can be designed from everyday items, such as bamboo or a plastic bottle.
What is the history behind the bong?
The term ''bong'' comes from the Thai word ''bang,'' referring to a cylindrical pipe or tube cut from bamboo. It is a distinctive aspect of the cannabis culture, and some people have gone to give even funkier names. Nevertheless, the bong is a user's expression and can be outfitted and tailored to suit their distinct vibe and tastes.
Although most people tend to associate the bong with the hippy period of the Sixties, it is reported that the use of water pipes to cool and filter smoke started way back in 2400. The earliest use of water pipe can be traced back to the ancient tribes that lived within today's referred to as Russia. The technology spread to China past Persia through the Silk Road. It went to be the most popular way for the kings to smoke tobacco in China.
Bob Snodgrass, an American glassblower, was widely associated with developing the present-day water pipe or bong, discovering a technique to give pipes unique colors and give the equipment a wider appeal.
Lighting the herb
The dry herb combusts when you introduce flame. There is nothing revolutionary about lighting a bong. You know that already. However, what is happening is that the intense heat disintegrates the chemical bonds that form the herb, transforming the particles into gaseous form, the gas you see rising.
The smoke carries lots of products, and not all of them may be desirable. The function of the bong is to sieve the bad products as much as possible, leaving behind only the desirable products that the user inhales. It is the water that acts as the filter.
Filtering undesirable products
As the smoker sucks the smoke past the water, tar and ash filter out, binding to the differentiated water molecules. The water molecules act as a magnet, attracting only tar and ash without affecting neutral compounds contained in the materials. Some chemicals are also left behind, although not significant enough to affect your session. Ash filters and screens can also assist in blocking the large chunks of particles that manage to pass through water from affecting your hit's flavor.
Water will also assist in cooling the smoke as it travels through to reach the smoker. The temperature of the flame introduced on the herb can be as high as 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. Such a temperature range is not good for your lungs or threat. However, you don't want your hit to be so cold because active ingredients can vaporize at a temperature between one hundred and twenty and five hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Ensure they remain in vapor state as much as possible by not using excess water as a filter down-stem.
Clean water is imperative to achieving a quality session. The presence of chemicals in the water can impact your hit's flavor. Similarly, some chemicals, such as alcohol and chlorine, can be hazardous to inhale. Ensure you always have the water replaced after cleaning the bong with a suitable cleansing agent and rinsing it accordingly before use. Read the manufacturer's recommendations carefully before cleaning your bong.
What are percolators?
Percolators are created to filter ash and tar efficiently to prevent the user from inhaling particles. They separate the smoke mixture from water, creating a bubble and increasing the surface area for the water molecule to interact with smoke. The more smoke interacts with water molecules, the more ash and tar are filtered from the vapor.
It is common for some users to introduce additional percolators by incorporating ash catchers on the pipes to achieve extra filtration. However, be careful since percolators can result in a more powerful drag and exert more pressure on the lungs. A bong allows users to experience smoother and cooler sessions because of the moistened smoke.