The earliest form of a bearing is when people used to lay down several logs with a platform on top of the logs and roll it across the floor. This is thought to be the way the Egyptians built the pyramids during the time of the pharaohs. The first signs of evidence of a thrust bearing were on the remains of the emperor Caligula's ships found at the bottom of lake Nemi in Italy dated to 40 A.D.

It was Leonardo de Vinci who first discovered the idea of bearings and that friction could be reduced if the balls in a bearing did not touch each other. This discovery was only on paper and was not patented. The first patent was by Philip Vaughan, an English carriage man in 1794. Because there are so many bearings they were all patented by different people, for example the tapered roller bearing was patented by Henry Timken in the 19th Century. Henry took his idea of the roller bearing and grew a very large business and then progressed into making all different types bearings and other related products. The Timken Company is still to date one of the largest bearing manufactures in the world.

The first rolling bearings were made out of wood or sometimes stone. Today they are usually made from steel, ceramic, and plastic. Wooden bearings can still be seen today in old water mills. From here the designs of the bearing have grown into a wide range of different types and they are made out of all different materials.

Each has there own advantages and disadvantages and some are better used in certain situations than others. Usually the bearings are rated on how much weight they can handle and their speed which relies on how much friction they have, for example fluid bearings can be extremely fast and have a lifetime usage.

Bearings are extremely important applications in so many appliances and machinery we use today on a daily basis for example every time you use your car, or a kitchen appliance, or take a trip on a boat think about the bearings and how important they are to the speed and movement.

The news come from http://www.bossgoo.com