Typical examples of an inflatable include the inflatable boat, the balloon, the airship, furniture, kites, and numerous air-filled swimming pool toys. Air beams as as structural elements are finding increasing applications. Balloons are inflatables.
Smaller-scale inflatables (such as pool toys) generally consist of one or more "air chambers", which are hollow enclosures bound by a soft and flexible airtight material (such as vinyl), which a gas can enter into or leave from through valves (usually one on each air chamber). The design dependence upon an enclosed pocket of gas leads to a need for a very durable surface material and/or ease of repair of tears and holes on the material, since a puncture or tear will result in the escape of the gas inside (a leak) and the deflation of the inflatable, which depends on the gas's pressure to hold its form. Detectable leaks can be caused by holes (from punctures or tears) on the material, the separating of seams, the separating of valve parts, or an improperly shut or improperly closing valve. Even if an inflatable possesses no macroscopic leaks, the gas inside will usually diffuse out of the inflatable, albeit at a much slower rate, until equilibrium is reached with the pressure outside the inflatable.
Many inflatables are made of material that does not stretch upon inflation; a notable exception of this is the balloon, whose rubber stretches greatly when inflated.
Inflatables are also used for the construction of specific sports pitches, military quick-assembly tents, camping tent air beams, and noise makers. Inflatable aircraft including the Goodyear Inflatoplane have been used. Inflation by dynamic ram-air is providing wings for hang gliding and paragliding.
Inflatables came very much into the public eye as architectural and domestic object when synthetic materials became commonplace.. Iconic structures like the US Pavillion at the 1970 Osaka Expo by Davis and Brody and Victor Lundy's travelling pavillion for the Atomic Energy Commission popularized the idea that inflatables can be a way to build large structures with very extendend interior spans without pillars. These great hopes for inflatable structures would later be dashed by the many practical difficulties faced by inflatable buildings, such as climatization, safety, sensitivity to wind and fire proofing that, currently, restrict their use to very specific circumstances.
The DVD Ant Farm has directions for making your own inflatables, using plastic bags and an iron. The low technological barrier to building inflatables is further lowered by DIY instruction sets like the Inflatocookbook.
A patent was granted in Australia in 2001 for a "Manually portable and inflatable automobile" (Australian Patent Number 2001100029), however no known practical form of this type of inflatable has yet been commercialised.
Large scale low-pressure inflatables are often seen at festivals as decorations or inflatable games. These are made out of rip stop nylon and have a constant flow of air from a blower inflating them.
A distinction is made between high-pressure and low-pressure inflatables. In a high-pressure inflatable, structural limbs like pillars and arches are built out of a tough, flexible material and then inflated at a relatively high pressure. These limbs hold up passive membranes. The space where the visitors or inhabitants stay is at normal atmosferic pressure. For example, airplane emergency rafts are high-pressure inflatable structures. Low-pressure inflatables, on the other hand, are slightly pressurized environments completely held up by internal pressure. In other words, the visitors or inhabitants experience a slightly higher than normal pressure. Low-pressure inflatables are usually built of lighter materials. Both types of inflatables (the low-pressure type more so) are somewhat susceptible to high winds. A recent inflatable, built for architectural and design experimentation, is the CICCIO module.
In some cases, an inflatable roof is added to an otherwise traditional structure: the biggest example in the world is currently the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia. Another example can be found in the Roman amphitheater of Nîmes.
There are also several variations on sports games which are made portable thanks to inflatables. A sports cage is an inflatable cage that holds up a backdrop that resembles a sport (e.g. baseball, American football, soccer, golf) in which you throw, toss, hit or kick a ball at a marked spot on the backdrop. The cage not only holds the backdrop but keeps balls from flying everywhere. Some sports cages come with a radar gun that will tell you the speed of your throw or kick.
These are made of a synthetic fabric, of which different colors have been sewn together in various patterns. An electric blower constantly forces air into the figure, replacing air lost through its fabric and seams. They are internally lit by small C7 incandescent light bulbs (also used in nightlights), which are covered by translucent plastic snap-on globes that protect the fabric from the heat if they should rest against it.
Inflatables come in various sizes, commonly four feet or 1.2 meters tall (operated with a low-voltage DC power supply and a computer fan), and six or eight feet (1.8 to 2.4 meters) tall, running directly from AC mains electricity. Like inflatable rides, outdoor types are staked to the ground with guy wires (usually synthetic rope or flat straps) to keep them upright in the wind, though being rather flimsy this does not always work. Heavy snow or rainwater which has accumulated may also prevent proper inflation.
While these store compactly, there are disadvantages, including the large amount of electricity needed to constantly keep them inflated. While they can be turned off in the daytime, this leaves the figure deflated, and subject to the rain and snow problem. Freezing rain, heavy snow, or high winds may also cause inflatables to collapse. Additionally, like a tent, they must be completely dry before being packed for storage, or mildew may be a problem (especially if kept in a basement).
Decorative inflatables are made in many popular characters, including Santa Claus and snowmen for Christmas, and ghosts and jack-o-lanterns for Halloween. Several trademarked characters are also produced, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Winnie the Pooh, and Snoopy and Woodstock from Peanuts. There are also walk-though arches and "haunted houses" for children, and items for other holidays like Uncle Sam for Independence Day, and palm trees for backyard summer cookouts.
Since 2005, there are also inflatable snow globes which blow tiny styrofoam beads around on the inside, the blower's air jet picking them up and through a tube to the top, where they fall down inside the clear vinyl front. On others, mainly for Halloween, lightweight foam bats or ghosts spin around like confetti in what is called a "tornado globe". The figures inside both types are also inflatables.
Since 2006, several of these have motion, which is driven by the air itself and the Venturi effect. The original is a merry-go-round (usually surrounded by clear vinyl for support), another from 2007 is an airplane with moving propeller. Ghosts may also have streamers which blow around where the air escapes.