Pneumatic Tires
Most tires used in contemporary times are considered to be pneumatic tires. The use of rubber in tires enabled the creation of pneumatic tires which allowed for a more comfy ride. The world's contemporary transportation system depends completely on pneumatic tires.
A pneumatic tire is a tire made of durable rubber and filled with compressed air. Motor vehicles such as cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles and airplanes all utilize pneumatic tires. Wheeled vehicles that are not motorized, such as bicycles, also utilize pneumatic tires.
History
The tire started after the creation or iron bands used around wooden wheels. It wasn't until the mid-19th century that the utilization of solid rubber in the creation of tires. The very first patent for a successful pneumatic tire was issued in 1888 to Irishman John Dunlop who created an inner-tube for a bicycle tire in 1888. This was when the word "pneumatic" started to describe tires.
In 1895, Andre and Edouard Michelin produced the first pneumatic tires for automobiles in France. The company of the Michelin brothers was destined to become a top manufacturer of car tires. The very first U.S. company to make tires was Goodyear Tire company founded in the year 1898, followed by the Firestone Tire & Rubber company in the year 1900, the second company in the US to make tires.
Function
For the first half of the 20th century, pneumatic tires required a rubber inner tube in order to hold the air pressure. Tires were made of reinforced layers of cord or plies covered with rubber. The plies were laid on a bias or angle to define the shape of the tire and strengthen it. These "bias ply" tires had a tread pattern for traction.
The modern radial tire has been made with plies which run across the body of the tire. They require no inner tube because the tire forms an airtight seal with the wheel. This was an invention of the Michelin company in 1948. The tires did not become widely utilized until the latter parts of the 1970s. Radial tires provide better fuel economy and last longer.