Hi again second one of the week. Here is one can be annoying at the same time is there for our safety. Ever noticed how many of the windows in student accommodation have limits. Its obviously there to stop us from falling out of the window and to stop us from dropping things out the window (at least that was what I was told). They all have different mechanisms to limit the degree of 'openage' in the case of my flat there is a simple sliding piece of metal and a hinge. The system is fairly well lubricated too. When I want to open the window, the sliding hinge slides down and the middle hinge supports this. What is a nice feature of this system is the fact I can open the window to many different degrees and it will stay there. This is due to the middle hinge being attached as low down the frame as possible. If you think of the first bit of a sine wave (bear with me here) the gradient begins low then high then low again at the first peak. Well the clever window designing people decided to only limit the window to open within that first low gradient and thusly the window's inertia will always be under 'control'. I may be horribly wrong here so please any corrections are welcome.
Martin Phipps
Photo taken and edited by Martin Phipps in my Flat.
When I was a student the windows in our halls pivoted about a central vertical axis. Ground floor windows had a catch to prevent excess opening for security reasons, but those on the the 1st and 2nd floors had no such protection.
ReplyDeleteIf you left you window open slightly, wind running along the side of the window, would push on the open section of window setting up a moment, opening the window further and making it even more vulnerable to wind. A sudden gust could then open thew window forcefully, risking damage to the window and also catapaulting the contents of the window sill, usually including a carton of milk, across the room !
When I lived in Lawrence Tower our windows were quite big and old. They could tilt around a horizontal axis and as the towers are so cheap, there was just a simple bar locked across the front of the window to stop it being opened too much. I don't think it was very good for the window as it would always get a hard knock when the window was pulled open too much. Also bad for the wood around the glass bit. I wouldn't be suprised if one day the glass broke as it already rattled when it was windy. I don't think we need those security things, I'd rather be able to open my window even on the 13th floor. Suvi Ellila
ReplyDelete