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Tripwire
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A tripwire is a passive triggering mechanism. Typically, a wire or cord is attached to a device for detecting or reacting to physical movement.
Military applications
[edit]Such tripwires may be attached to one or more mines — especially fragmentation or bounding mines — in order to increase the area where triggering may occur. Trip wires are frequently used in booby traps — where either a tug on the wire, or the release of tension on it, will trigger the explosives.
Soldiers sometimes detect the presence of tripwires by spraying the area with Silly String. It will settle to the ground in areas where there are no wires; where wires are present, the "strings" will rest on the taut wires without triggering the explosive, due to the product's light weight. Its use in detecting tripwires was first discovered in 1993 by Sergeant First Class David B. Chandler, Chief Instructor of the United States Army's Sapper Leader Course. That year it was introduced to students attending the course, and it was later used in combat for this purpose by U.S. troops in the Iraq War.[1][2][3]
Another detection method is the use of green line lasers to illuminate and thus expose trip and command wires. The bright laser beam reflects off the tripwire and can be seen by the user.
Industrial applications
[edit]A tripwire may be installed in the vicinity of industrial equipment, such as a conveyor belt to enable workers to stop the equipment quickly.[4] These may also be called emergency stop pull-cords.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ Martens, Ellin (19 November 2006). "Not So Silly String in Iraq". Time. Archived from the original on 6 December 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ "A Serious Use For Silly String". CBS News. 6 December 2006. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ "FOX VIDEO: 'Silly String' is saving lives over in Iraq". The Raw Story. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
- ^ "Safe and reliable conveyor belt stopping, where and whenever it is needed". Eaton.
The conveyor trip switch, is a safety switch that has a pretension device which allows the trip wire to be tensioned.
- ^ "Machine Safety 101". Compliance InSight Consulting Inc. 28 August 2018.
Tripwire
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Definition and Purpose
A tripwire is a taut wire, cord, or filament stretched across a path or area, connected to a sensitive mechanism that activates upon tension, displacement, or breakage caused by contact.[9][10][11] This simple device functions as a passive triggering mechanism, typically employed to detect or respond to physical movement without requiring external energy input for its core operation.[9] The term "tripwire" derives from the combination of "trip," meaning to stumble or catch one's foot, and "wire," reflecting its physical form as a low-placed line designed to ensnare passersby.[12] Its earliest documented use dates to 1915 in military contexts, where it described concealed wires used in warfare to impede or alert to enemy movement.[9][12] The primary purposes of a tripwire include detecting unauthorized entry by trespassers or intruders and triggering alarms, traps, or explosive devices in response.[9][10] In military and security applications, it serves to initiate defensive actions, such as activating booby traps or landmines upon disturbance, thereby enhancing perimeter protection.[9] In controlled industrial environments, tripwires can also prompt safety shutdowns to prevent accidents from machinery or hazardous processes.[13] Key characteristics of basic tripwires emphasize their passivity, requiring no power source and operating solely through mechanical tension or displacement for reliable activation in low-tech settings.[9] Their simplicity in design—often just a stretched filament linked to a basic firing or signaling mechanism—ensures ease of deployment and high dependability, even in resource-limited scenarios like field operations.[14] This inherent reliability stems from the absence of complex electronics, making tripwires a foundational tool for intrusion detection across various operational contexts.[15]Basic Principles of Operation
A tripwire operates on the core principle of tension-based detection, where a thin, taut wire or cord maintains an equilibrium state until disrupted by an external force, such as the contact from a footfall or object passage. This disruption alters the wire's tension, activating a connected firing mechanism in devices like booby traps or alarms. The required triggering force varies by design but typically demands several kilograms (approximately 20-50 N) to ensure activation by human-scale disturbances while ignoring minor interferences like falling debris.[16][17] The mechanical response involves the release or application of stored potential energy within the system, often through linkages such as pulleys, springs, or direct connections to a striker pin, valve, or electrical switch. In tension-pull configurations, the applied force directly displaces the mechanism to initiate the response, such as firing a percussion cap. Conversely, tension-release setups rely on the sudden slackening of the wire—e.g., from cutting or breaking—to allow a pre-tensioned spring to propel the striker forward and complete the action. These responses enable rapid detection over distances typically ranging from 1 to 10 meters, though extensions up to 30 meters are possible in certain deployments.[18][19][16] Sensitivity is influenced by factors including the wire's initial tautness, overall length, and resistance to environmental disturbances. Greater tautness increases responsiveness to small displacements but risks premature activation from vibrations; longer spans (e.g., beyond 10 meters) may sag or fluctuate more under wind or animal contact, reducing reliability. Designs often incorporate minimal-stretch materials to maintain consistent tension, mitigating issues like sagging in humid conditions or interference from wildlife.[16][19] Safety considerations center on minimizing false positives from non-target disturbances, such as wind gusts or small animals, which could otherwise trigger unintended responses. To counter this, tripwires are engineered with thresholds above typical environmental forces and require effective camouflage or low-profile placement to avoid detection and accidental contact. The tension dynamics in the connected spring mechanism can be conceptually modeled using Hooke's law, where the restoring force equals the spring constant times the displacement :This equation illustrates how small displacements generate sufficient force for activation without excessive preload.[16][19][20]