Pneumatic Tires
Most tires utilized in modern times are considered to be pneumatic tires. The utilization of rubber in tires allowed the invention of pneumatic tires that allowed for a much more comfortable ride. The world's contemporary transportation system completely depends on pneumatic tires.
A pneumatic tire is a type of tire made of durable rubber and filled with compressed air. Motorized vehicles including airplanes, motorcycles, cars, trucks and buses all utilize pneumatic tires. Wheeled vehicles which are not motorized, like bicycles, also use pneumatic tires.
History
The history of tires begins with the invention of iron bands around wooden wheels. The utilization of solid rubber in the construction of tires started during the middle part of the 19th century. The very first patent for a successful pneumatic tire was issued in 1888 to Irishman John Dunlop who invented an inner-tube for a bicycle tire in the year 1888. This was when the word "pneumatic" began to describe tires.
Seven years after, in 1895, Andre and Edouard Michelin made pneumatic tires for a car in France. The Michelin brothers' company was destined to become a leading manufacturer of car tires. The very first company in the United States to make tires was Goodyear Tire company founded in the year 1898, followed by the Firestone Tire & Rubber company in 1900, the second company in the United States to produce tires.
Function
For the first half of the 20th century, pneumatic tires needed a rubber inner tube in order to hold the air pressure. Tires were made of toughened layers of plies or cord covered with rubber. The plies were laid on an angle or bias to strengthen it and to define the tire's shape. These "bias ply" tires had a tread pattern for traction.
Modern radial tires are constructed with the plies running at 90 degrees across the body of the tire. They need no inner tube as the tire forms an airtight seal with the wheel. This was a creation of the Michelin company in the year 1948. The tires did not become widely utilized until the late 1970s. Radial tires offer better fuel economy and last longer.