Arrow

From Free net encyclopedia

For other uses, see Arrow (disambiguation).

1 Weapon
2 Written mark
3 Arrows in Unicode
4 See also

Weapon

An arrow is a pointed projectile that is shot with a bow or a crossbow. It predates recorded history and is common to most cultures. Image:Arrowhead.jpg Image:Native American arrowheads.JPG

An arrow consists of a long and thin shaft made formerly of wood and now also from aluminium or carbon fiber composite. The stiffness of this shaft is referred to as its "spine." When selecting arrows for shooting, one must consider its spine, diameter, and length. An arrow which is too stiff (has too much spine) for a bow with a certain draw weight will shatter. This is because a great deal of energy is delivered into the shaft by the limbs of the bow when the shot is released. If an arrow is too short for a bow's draw length, it may fall off the bow rest when the bow is drawn, and if released may be driven into the shooter's hand or wrist.

The arrow is pointed or armed with an arrowhead or "point" at one end and with a nock or notch in the other. The nock serves to keep the arrow in place on the string as the bow is being drawn. Arrowheads fit hunting and military purpose better than a mere point, which is mostly useful for target-shooting because it is smaller and therefore more aerodynamic, allowing for faster speeds and a flatter trajectory. The main type of arrowheads used in medieval periods for battle purposes were broadhead, swallowtail, and bodkin. Pitch and tar arrows were also used for setting fire to the fields enemies were attacking on. A modern broadhead arrow has somewhere between two and six razor-sharp blades which are about an inch or an inch and a half long. Some broadheads have mechanisms which keep the blades inside the shaft until contact is made to decrease air resistance. The killing power of an arrow comes from its ability to slice through organs and major arteries and veins; the victim often dies as a result of blood loss. A shot which strikes a limb at a major blood vessel can be just as lethal as a shot to a major organ if a tourniquet is not immediatley applied.

Near the notch end are vanes parallel to the shaft which keep the arrow pointed in the direction of travel by strongly damping down any tendency to pitch or yaw. There are often three vanes but many fletchings have four or even more. They were originally made from feathers (often from a Goose or Turkey) bound to the arrow's shaft, but are now often made of plastic. Vanes can be anywhere from two to six inches in length.

Artisans who make arrows by hand are known as "fletchers," a word related to the French word for arrow, flèche. To fletch an arrow means to provide it with its vanes.

As an arrow flies toward its target, its shaft will bend and flex from side to side, almost like a fish swimming through water.

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Written mark

The term "arrow" is also used for a graphics symbol like →, ←, used to point or indicate direction, being in its simplest form a line segment with a triangle affixed to one end, and in more complex forms a representation of an actual arrow.

In the mathematics of set theory, the function arrow signifies that a set maps to another. In propositional logic, the arrow represents a material implication, where if statement A is true, then the truth of statement B is implied.

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Arrows in Unicode

In Unicode, arrow symbols occupy the hexadecimal range 0x2190–0x21ff (8592–8704 decimal), as described below.

	hex	name		hex	name		hex	name		hex	name
←	0x2190	Leftwards Arrow	↬	0x21ac	Rightwards Arrow With Loop	⇈	0x21c8	Upwards Paired Arrows	⇤	0x21e4	Leftwards Arrow To Bar
↑	0x2191	Upwards Arrow	↭	0x21ad	Left Right Wave Arrow	⇉	0x21c9	Rightwards Paired Arrows	⇥	0x21e5	Rightwards Arrow To Bar
→	0x2192	Rightwards Arrow	↮	0x21ae	Left Right Arrow With Stroke	⇊	0x21ca	Downwards Paired Arrows	⇦	0x21e6	Leftwards White Arrow
↓	0x2193	Downwards Arrow	↯	0x21af	Downwards Zigzag Arrow	⇋	0x21cb	Leftwards Harpoon Over Rightwards Harpoon	⇧	0x21e7	Upwards White Arrow
↔	0x2194	Left Right Arrow	↰	0x21b0	Upwards Arrow With Tip Leftwards	⇌	0x21cc	Rightwards Harpoon Over Leftwards Harpoon	⇨	0x21e8	Rightwards White Arrow
↕	0x2195	Up Down Arrow	↱	0x21b1	Upwards Arrow With Tip Rightwards	⇍	0x21cd	Leftwards Double Arrow With Stroke	⇩	0x21e9	Downwards White Arrow
↖	0x2196	North West Arrow	↲	0x21b2	Downwards Arrow With Tip Leftwards	⇎	0x21ce	Left Right Double Arrow With Stroke	⇪	0x21ea	Upwards White Arrow From Bar
↗	0x2197	North East Arrow	↳	0x21b3	Downwards Arrow With Tip Rightwards	⇏	0x21cf	Rightwards Double Arrow With Stroke	⇫	0x21eb	Upwards White Arrow On Pedestal
↘	0x2198	South East Arrow	↴	0x21b4	Rightwards Arrow With Corner Downwards	⇐	0x21d0	Leftwards Double Arrow	⇬	0x21ec	Upwards White Arrow On Pedestal With Horizontal Bar
↙	0x2199	South West Arrow	↵	0x21b5	Downwards Arrow With Corner Leftwards	⇑	0x21d1	Upwards Double Arrow	⇭	0x21ed	Upwards White Arrow On Pedestal With Vertical Bar
↚	0x219a	Leftwards Arrow With Stroke	↶	0x21b6	Anticlockwise Top Semicircle Arrow	⇒	0x21d2	Rightwards Double Arrow	⇮	0x21ee	Upwards White Double Arrow
↛	0x219b	Rightwards Arrow With Stroke	↷	0x21b7	Clockwise Top Semicircle Arrow	⇓	0x21d3	Downwards Double Arrow	⇯	0x21ef	Upwards White Double Arrow On Pedestal
↜	0x219c	Leftwards Wave Arrow	↸	0x21b8	North West Arrow To Long Bar	⇔	0x21d4	Left Right Double Arrow	⇰	0x21f0	Rightwards White Arrow From Wall
↝	0x219d	Rightwards Wave Arrow	↹	0x21b9	Leftwards Arrow To Bar Over Rightwards Arrow To Bar	⇕	0x21d5	Up Down Double Arrow	⇱	0x21f1	North West Arrow To Corner
↞	0x219e	Leftwards Two Headed Arrow	↺	0x21ba	Anticlockwise Open Circle Arrow	⇖	0x21d6	North West Double Arrow	⇲	0x21f2	South East Arrow To Corner
↟	0x219f	Upwards Two Headed Arrow	↻	0x21bb	Clockwise Open Circle Arrow	⇗	0x21d7	North East Double Arrow	⇳	0x21f3	Up Down White Arrow
↠	0x21a0	Rightwards Two Headed Arrow	↼	0x21bc	Leftwards Harpoon With Barb Upwards	⇘	0x21d8	South East Double Arrow	⇴	0x21f4	Right Arrow With Small Circle
↡	0x21a1	Downwards Two Headed Arrow	↽	0x21bd	Leftwards Harpoon With Barb Downwards	⇙	0x21d9	South West Double Arrow	⇵	0x21f5	Downwards Arrow Leftwards Of Upwards Arrow
↢	0x21a2	Leftwards Arrow With Tail	↾	0x21be	Upwards Harpoon With Barb Rightwards	⇚	0x21da	Leftwards Triple Arrow	⇶	0x21f6	Three Rightwards Arrows
↣	0x21a3	Rightwards Arrow With Tail	↿	0x21bf	Upwards Harpoon With Barb Leftwards	⇛	0x21db	Rightwards Triple Arrow	⇷	0x21f7	Leftwards Arrow With Vertical Stroke
↤	0x21a4	Leftwards Arrow From Bar	⇀	0x21c0	Rightwards Harpoon With Barb Upwards	⇜	0x21dc	Leftwards Squiggle Arrow	⇸	0x21f8	Rightwards Arrow With Vertical Stroke
↥	0x21a5	Upwards Arrow From Bar	⇁	0x21c1	Rightwards Harpoon With Barb Downwards	⇝	0x21dd	Rightwards Squiggle Arrow	⇹	0x21f9	Left Right Arrow With Vertical Stroke
↦	0x21a6	Rightwards Arrow From Bar	⇂	0x21c2	Downwards Harpoon With Barb Rightwards	⇞	0x21de	Upwards Arrow With Double Stroke	⇺	0x21fa	Leftwards Arrow With Double Vertical Stroke
↧	0x21a7	Downwards Arrow From Bar	⇃	0x21c3	Downwards Harpoon With Barb Leftwards	⇟	0x21df	Downwards Arrow With Double Stroke	⇻	0x21fb	Rightwards Arrow With Double Vertical Stroke
↨	0x21a8	Up Down Arrow With Base	⇄	0x21c4	Rightwards Arrow Over Leftwards Arrow	⇠	0x21e0	Leftwards Dashed Arrow	⇼	0x21fc	Left Right Arrow With Double Vertical Stroke
↩	0x21a9	Leftwards Arrow With Hook	⇅	0x21c5	Upwards Arrow Leftwards Of Downwards Arrow	⇡	0x21e1	Upwards Dashed Arrow	⇽	0x21fd	Leftwards Open-Headed Arrow
↪	0x21aa	Rightwards Arrow With Hook	⇆	0x21c6	Leftwards Arrow Over Rightwards Arrow	⇢	0x21e2	Rightwards Dashed Arrow	⇾	0x21fe	Rightwards Open-Headed Arrow
↫	0x21ab	Leftwards Arrow With Loop	⇇	0x21c7	Leftwards Paired Arrows	⇣	0x21e3	Downwards Dashed Arrow	⇿	0x21ff	Left Right Open-Headed Arrow

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Arrow

From Free net encyclopedia

Contents

Weapon

Written mark

Arrows in Unicode

See also

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