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: ''This article is about non-metallic ropes. For other uses, see [[Rope (disambiguation)]].''


[[Image:Rope.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Coils of rope used for long-line fishing]]
A '''rope''' is a length of [[fiber]]s, twisted or [[braid]]ed together to improve strength for pulling and [[connecting]]. It has [[tensile strength]] but is too flexible to provide [[compressive strength]] (i.e., it can be used for pulling, not pushing). Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly constructed cord, line, string, or twine. Common materials for rope include natural fibers such as [[Manila hemp]], [[hemp]], [[linen]], [[cotton]], [[coir]], [[jute]], and [[sisal]].  
 
A '''rope''' ([[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]: {{IPA|/rəʊp/}}) is a length of [[fiber]]s, twisted or [[braid]]ed together to improve strength for pulling and [[connecting]]. It has [[tensile strength]] but is too flexible to provide [[compressive strength]] (i.e., it can be used for pulling, not pushing). Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly constructed cord, line, string, or twine. Common materials for rope include natural fibers such as [[Manila hemp]], [[hemp]], [[linen]], [[cotton]], [[coir]], [[jute]], and [[sisal]].  
'''[[Synthetic fiber]]s''' in use for rope-making include [[polypropylene]], [[nylon]], [[polyester]] (e.g. [[polyethylene terephthalate|PET]]), [[polyethylene]] (e.g. [[Dyneema|Spectra]]) and [[Aramid]]s (e.g. [[Twaron]], [[Technora]] and Kevlar). Some ropes are constructed of mixtures of several fibres or use co-polymer fibres. Ropes can also be made out of [[metal]] fibers.  Ropes have been constructed of other fibrous materials such as [[silk]], [[wool]], and [[hair]], but such ropes are not generally available.
'''[[Synthetic fiber]]s''' in use for rope-making include [[polypropylene]], [[nylon]], [[polyester]] (e.g. [[polyethylene terephthalate|PET]]), [[polyethylene]] (e.g. [[Dyneema|Spectra]]) and [[Aramid]]s (e.g. [[Twaron]], [[Technora]] and Kevlar). Some ropes are constructed of mixtures of several fibres or use co-polymer fibres. Ropes can also be made out of [[metal]] fibers.  Ropes have been constructed of other fibrous materials such as [[silk]], [[wool]], and [[hair]], but such ropes are not generally available.


Rope is of paramount importance in fields as diverse as [[construction]], [[seafaring]], exploration, sports and communications and has been since [[prehistory|prehistoric]] times. In order to fasten rope, a large number of [[knot]]s have been invented for various uses. [[Pulley]]s are used to redirect the pulling force to another direction, and may be used to create [[mechanical advantage]], allowing multiple strands of rope to share a load and multiply the force applied to the end. [[Winch]]es and [[capstan (nautical)|capstans]] are machines designed to pull ropes.
Rope is of paramount importance in fields as diverse as [[construction]], [[seafaring]], exploration, sports and communications and has been since [[prehistory|prehistoric]] times. In order to fasten rope, a large number of [[knot]]s have been invented for various uses. [[Pulley]]s are used to redirect the pulling force to another direction, and may be used to create [[mechanical advantage]], allowing multiple strands of rope to share a load and multiply the force applied to the end. [[Winch]]es and [[capstan (nautical)|capstans]] are machines designed to pull ropes.
== History ==
The use of ropes for hunting, pulling, fastening, attaching, carrying, lifting, and climbing dates back to prehistoric times and has always been essential to mankind's technological progress. It is likely that the earliest "ropes" were naturally occurring lengths of plant fiber, such as vines, followed soon by the first attempts at twisting and braiding these strands together to form the first proper ropes in the modern sense of the word.  [[Fossil]]ised fragments of "probably two-ply laid rope of about 7 mm diameter" were found in [[Lascaux]] cave, dating to approximately 17,000 [[Before Present|BP]].<ref name="histsci14">J.C. Turner and P. van de Griend (ed.), ''The History and Science of Knots'' (Singapore: World Scientific, 1996), 14.</ref>
[[Image:Ancient_Egypt_rope_manufacture.jpg|thumb|200px|Ancient Egyptians were
the first to develop tools for ropemaking]]
The [[ancient Egypt]]ians were probably the first civilization to develop special tools to make rope. Egyptian rope dates back to 4000 to 3500 B.C. and was generally made of water reed fibers. Other rope in antiquity was made from the fibers of [[date palm]]s, [[flax]], [[grass]], [[papyrus]], [[leather]], or animal hair. The use of such ropes pulled by thousands of workers allowed the [[Egyptians]] to move the heavy stones required to build their monuments. Starting from approximately 2800 B.C., rope made of hemp fibers was in use in China. Rope and the craft of rope making spread throughout Asia, India, and Europe over the next several thousand years.
In the Middle Ages (from the thirteenth century to the eighteenth century), from the British Isles to Italy, ropes were constructed in so-called ''rope walks'', very long [[building]]s where strands the full length of the rope were spread out and then ''laid up'' or twisted together to form the rope. The cable length was thus set by the length of the available rope walk. This is related to the unit of [[length]] termed ''[[cable length]]''. This allowed for long ropes of up to 300 yards long or longer to be made. Short ropes are useless on tall ships which require ropes to be long, relatively uniform in diameter, and strong. Short ropes would require splicing to make them long. The strongest form of splicing is the short splice, which doubles the diameter of the rope at the area of the splice. This would cause problems in the rigging hardware such as buckles and pulleys.
[[Image:German Ropemaker, around 1460-1480.png|thumb|200px|A German ropemaker, around 1470 AD]]
[[Leonardo da Vinci]] drew sketches of a concept for a ropemaking machine, but just like many other of his [[invention]]s, they never got built. Nevertheless, remarkable feats of construction were accomplished  without advanced technology: In 1586, [[Domenico Fontana]] erected the 327 ton [[obelisk]] on Rome's [[Saint Peter's Square]] with a concerted effort of 900 men, 75 horses, and countless pulleys and meters of rope. By the late 1700s several working machines had been built and patented.
Rope continued to be made from natural fibers until the 1950s when [[synthetic fiber]]s such as nylon became popular.


== Styles of rope construction ==
== Styles of rope construction ==
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*[http://www.uponaline.com Learn to walk on rope - Uponaline.com]
*[http://www.uponaline.com Learn to walk on rope - Uponaline.com]
*[http://dmoz.org/Business/Industrial_Goods_and_Services/Industrial_Supply/Rope_and_Rigging/ Open Directory - resource for links related to rope and rigging]
*[http://dmoz.org/Business/Industrial_Goods_and_Services/Industrial_Supply/Rope_and_Rigging/ Open Directory - resource for links related to rope and rigging]
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[[Category:Climbing equipment]]
[[Category:Climbing equipment]]
[[Category:Ropework]]
[[Category:Ropework]]
[[Category:Survival skills]]
[[Category:Survival skills]]
[[Category:Arts and craft activities]]


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