Hinge hinge (hînj) n. 1a. A
jointed or flexible device that allows the turning or pivoting of a part, such as a door
or lid, on a stationary frame. You have probably already used about a hundred hinges today. Most every door that you walk through hangs on two or more. Your car doors and trunk, your kitchen cabinets, your brief case and laptop computer, even the lid on the toilet - they are all enabled by the hinge. The hinge is a truly amazing device; simple (yes so simple!) in form, and capable of providing not one, but two of the most profound of concepts of humanity and the physical world - Open and Closed. Not bad for two pieces of stamped metal and a pin? The most basic and probably oldest form of the hinge is the strap hinge. Easily forged from iron or bronze and comprising only three parts (two of them identical), the strap hinge is simple to install and effective for large doors and gates. The strap hinge is the predecessor of the modern door hinge which, while nearly invisible to us, nestled neatly between the door jam and the inner edge of the door, is the gatekeeper of all our comings and goings.
In function the hinge turns a neat trick. Hinges work to convert the smooth motion of a pivoting part against a fixed part, into a binary state - open or closed. The hinge is the original analog to digital converter. Therefore it comes as no surprise that in both its three part form and transitional function the hinge resembles the key enabling technology of the computer age, the transistor. A transistor is a device that acts as a switch, where "pushing" on its input voltage turns the switch from closed to open. The basic PnP transistor is a sandwich of positive and negatively charged semi-conductive materials arranged in such a way as to - just like a hinge - allow the device to pivot from an open to closed flow of current. Where the hinge moves to allow a stream of human activity, the transistor does the same for a stream of speeding electrons.
But the hinge is so much more than a binary device. Really if all we cared about was open or closed, the hinge would not have come to exist; we would just slide lids off and on, move doors away from their openings. The true beauty of the hinge is access to all the places in between open and closed. The hinge provides a range of motion that lets you safely peek through a cracked open door when a stranger knocks, or examine the contents of your freezer on a hot day. Your hinged laptop screen keeps you working even when the seatback in front of you is not in its up right position. With the help of a few hinges you can set the back gate ajar for the dog, let in a warm summer breeze, or close your door to broadcast your mood at the office. So let's give it up for hinges today. They are all around us in un-ending service. Take notice and show some appreciation. Not every day is for bowls you know.
in loving memory of my grandmother, Helen *** |
