Helmet

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A woman wearing a bicycling helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head from injuries.
Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., UK policeman's helmet) without protective function are
sometimes used. The oldest known use of helmets was by Assyrian soldiers in 900BC, who wore
thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from blunt object and swordblows
and arrow strikes in combat. Soldiers still wear helmets, now often made from lightweight plastic
materials.
In civilian life, helmets are used for recreational activities and sports (e.g., jockeys in horse
racing, American football, ice hockey, cricket,baseball, and rock climbing); dangerous work
activities (e.g., construction, mining, riot police); and transportation (e.g., Motorcycle
helmetsand bicycle helmets). Since the 1990s, most helmets are made from resin or plastic,
which may be reinforced with fibers such as aramids.
The word helmet is diminutive from helm, Medieval word for combat protective headgear. The
Medieval great helm covers the whole head and often is accompanied with camail protecting
throat and neck as well. Originally a helmet was a helm which covered the head only partly.
Contents
[hide]
1 Design
o 1.1 Materials
2 Helmet types
3 Heraldry
4 Gallery
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
Design[edit]


A protective helmet worn during rock climbing
All helmets attempt to protect the user's head by absorbing mechanical energy and protecting
against penetration. Their structure and protective capacity are altered in high-energy impacts.
Beside their energy-absorption capability, their volume and weight are also important issues,
since higher volume and weight increase the injury risk for the user's head and neck. Anatomical
helmets adapted to the inner head structure were invented by neurosurgeons at the end of the
20th century.
Helmets used for different purposes have different designs. For example, a bicycle helmet must
protect against blunt impact forces from the wearer's head striking the road. A helmet designed
for rock climbing must protect against heavy impact, and against objects such as small rocks
and climbing equipment falling from above. Practical concerns also dictate helmet design: a
bicycling helmet should be aerodynamic in shape and well ventilated, while a rock climbing
helmet must be lightweight and small so that it does not interfere with climbing.
Some helmets have other protective elements attached to them, such as a
face visors or goggles or a face cage, or an ear cage or ear plugs and other forms of protective
headgear, and a communications system. Sports helmets may have an integrated metal face
protector (face cage).
Baseball batting helmets have an expanded protection over the ear, which protects the jaw
from injury.
Motorcycle helmets often have flip-down face screens for rain and wind protection, and they
may also have projecting visors to protect the eyes from glare.
Hard hats for construction workers are worn mainly to protect the wearer from falling objects
such as tools.
Helmets for riot police often have flip-down clear visors and thick padding to protect the back
of the neck.
Modern firefighter's helmets protect the face and back of the head against impact, fires and
electricity, and can include masks, communication systems, and other accessories.
Welding helmets protect the eyes and face and neck from flash burn, ultraviolet light, sparks
and heat. They have a small window, called a lens shade, through which the welder looks at
the weld; for arc welding this window must be much darker than in blowtorch
goggles and sunglasses.
People with some medical conditions must wear a helmet to protect the brain, due to a gap
in the braincase, e.g. because of cleidocranial dysostosis or in separatedcraniopagus twins.
Mixed martial arts helmets have ear pads to prevent serious injuries to the athletes, who do
not usually endure such force to the ears.
Some watersports helmets, such as for underwater hockey or water polo, have ear-cages
fitted which are designed to help prevent burst eardrums caused by an excessive water
pressure resulting from a contact or percussion from other equipment involved in the sport.
Materials[edit]


Howard A. Wooten of theTuskegee Airmen wearing leather helmet and goggles
Historically, helmets have been made from a wide range of materials, including various metals,
plastics, leather, and even some fibrous materials such as Kevlar. Ancient and medieval helmets
were usually made of metals, often bronze, iron or steel, though some boar's tusk helmets were
known to ancient Mycenea.
Some British gamekeepers during the 18th and 19th centuries wore helmets made
of straw bound together with cut bramble.
[1]
Developed in the mid-19th century, the pith helmet,
made of pith or cork, was often worn by Europeans in the tropics.
Military applications in the 19th-20th centuries saw a number of leather helmets, particularly
among aviation and tanker crews in the early 20th century. In the early days of the automobile,
some motorists also adopted this style of headgear, and early football helmets were also made of
leather. In World War II, American, Soviet, German, Italian and French flight crews wore leather
helmets, the German pilots disguising theirs under a beret before disposing of both and switching
to cloth caps.
[when?]
The era of the First and Second World Wars also saw a resurgence of metal
military helmets, most notably the Brodie helmet and the Stahlhelm.
Modern helmets have a much wider range of applications, including helmets adapted to the
specific needs of many athletic pursuits and work environments, and these very often incorporate
plastics and other synthetic materials for their light weight and shock absorption capabilities.
Some types of synthetic fibers used to make helmets in the 21st century
include Aramid, Kevlar and Twaron.
[citation needed]

Helmet types[edit]


A motocross helmet showing the elongated sun visor and chin bar
Helmets of many different types have developed over the course of human history. Most early
helmets had military uses, though some may have had more ceremonial than combat-related
purposes.
Two important helmet types to develop in antiquity were the Corinthian helmet and the
Roman galea.
During the Middle Ages, many different military helmets and some ceremonial helmets were
developed, almost all of these being made of metals. Some of the more important medieval
developments included the great helm, the bascinet, the frog-mouth helm and the armet.
In the 19th century, more materials were incorporated, namely leather, felt and pith. The pith
helmet and the leather pickelhaube were important 19th century developments. The greatest
expansion in the variety of forms and composition of helmets, however, took place in the 20th
century, with the development of highly specialized helmets for a multitude of athletic and
professional applications, as well as the advent of modern plastics. During World War I, the
French army developed the Adrian helmet, the British developed the Brodie helmet, and the
Germans produced the Stahlhelm. Flight helmets were also developed throughout the 20th
century. A multitude of athletic helmets, including football helmets, batting helmets, cricket
helmets, bicycle helmets, motorcycle helmets and racing helmets, were also developed in the
20th century.
Helmets since the mid-20th century have often incorporated lightweight plastics and other
synthetic materials, and their use has become highly specialized. Some important recent
developments include the French SPECTRA helmet, American PASGT (commonly called
"Kevlar" by U.S. troops) and Advanced Combat Helmet, or ACH. A more complete list of helmet
types can be found below.
Heraldry[edit]
Main article: Helmet (heraldry)
Escutcheon
Field
Supporter
Supporter
Motto (Scotland)
Crest
Torse
Mantling
Helm
Coronet
Compartment
Order
Ordinaries
Common
charges
Motto
right
left

Achievement elements
As the coat of arms was originally designed to distinguish noble combatants on the battlefield or
in a tournament, even while covered inarmour, it is not surprising that heraldic elements
constantly incorporated the shield and the helmet, these often being the most visible parts of
a knight's military equipment.
The common practice was to display a helmet as part of the coat of arms, above the shield, a
practice maintained long after helmets themselves ceased to be used. In German heraldry, the
helmet was even considered to be inseparable from the shield, in contrast toEnglish heraldry,
where the practice of displaying the helmet and crest alone with no shield whatsoever came into
vogue in Victoriantimes. In most post-medieval heraldic traditions, the style, colour and position
of the helmet became emblematic of the rank of the bearer. Rank was also often denoted by
a coronet, usually either surmounting the shield or placed upon the helmet.
The practice of indicating peerage through the display of barred or grilled helmets first appeared
around 1587-1615,
[2]
and the heraldic convention of displaying helmets of rank in the United
Kingdom, which came into vogue around Stuart times, is as follows:
[3]

Sovereign: a gold barred-face (tournament) helm placed affront
Peer's helmet: silver barred-face (tournament) helm placed in profile
Knight's or baronet's helmet: steel helm (earlier jousting helm, later close helm) placed
affront with visor open
Esquire's helmet: steel helm placed in profile with visor closed
Earlier rolls of arms reveal, however, that early heraldic helmets were depicted in a manner
faithful to the styles in actual military ortournament use at the time.
[4]