The oldest known water pipe was uncovered by archaeologists in Russia some years back and dated to approximately 400 BC. They didn’t call it a “bong” 2,400 years ago, however. That name came later and is thought to derive from the word “buang”, which is the ancient Thai name for a crude type of bamboo smoking pipe. But we’re not here to rehash the history of the bong. Instead, our goal in this post is to explain how the bongs we sell in our wholesale head shop work from a scientific perspective. Let’s get to it.

The Hookah Connection

The bong is one of the most popular ways to consume cannabis, but despite the fact that millions of bongs have been sold over the past 50 years there are still few people who really understand how this simple but extremely effective device works.

Modern bongs owe a lot to the hookah, the traditional water pipe first developed in India some 500 years ago as a way to make smoking tobacco more palatable. Like the hookah, the bong is basically a big filtration system where smoke is drawn through a volume of water that removes impurities.

A quick tour of our wholesale smoke shop will amply demonstrate that bongs are available in countless sizes and styles these days. Nonetheless, they all have the same basic components and they all work using the same scientific principles, as we’ll see in a few moments.

The Components of a Bong

Any scientific explanation of how a bong works must include a description of the 5 basic components that make up any bong, including every custom bong and customized water pipe.

#1: The bowl

The bowl sits at the top of the downstem which projects outward from the water compartment. The bowl is where the herb is placed and heated.

#2: The carb

Carb is short for “carburetor”. When drawing on the bong a finger is placed over the carb producing a vacuum inside. When enough smoke has been drawn the finger is removed, the vacuum is broken and the smoke is released to be inhaled.

#3: The downstem

The downstem is a short tube, often made of metal but sometimes glass or plastic, that extends from the base of the bowl into the water chamber. Smoke from the bowl travels through the downstem into the water where it is filtered.

#4: The tube

After the smoke emerges from the water it collects in the tube, which runs from the water chamber to the mouthpiece.

#5: The mouthpiece

The mouthpiece sits at the top of the tube. The user places their mouth over the mouthpiece and inhales while lighting the herb and holding their finger over the carb. When the carb is released the smoke is inhaled through the mouthpiece.

Now that you know the component parts of a bong let’s take a closer look at the science of this device.

The Science Behind the Bong

First you fill your bowl with herb, then you apply fire to it. Applying fire sets in motion the process of combustion. During combustion (commonly referred to as ‘burning’) the heat breaks down the chemical bonds within the herb transforming most of them into a gaseous form we experience as smoke. The smoke contains the THC that will create the buzz after we inhale it.

But before we inhale it the smoke passes through the water in the bong. The water molecules bond with the ash and tar particles removing them from the smoke and making it safer and less abrasive to our throat and lungs. However, water molecules are not fine enough to capture most of the THC compounds in the smoke. So those compounds are inhaled along with the purified smoke when we release our finger from the carb.

As is the case with any type of filter you're going to have to change it regularly or it will no longer do its job effectively. In this case, the water is the filter and if you don't change it on a regular basis it's going to become full of tar and ash, and other particles and give your hits a nasty, acidic taste.

Can a Bong Get You Higher Than a Joint?

We get this question from a lot of people in our wholesale head shop, and the answer is “yes”. The reason for that is pretty simple: The presence of the carb enables you to pull a huge amount of smoke through the water before releasing it to be inhaled. Larger hits equal more THC in each hit equals a more intense high.

Not only will the hit you get from a bong be bigger than what you could pull from a joint, it will also be significantly cooler and free of pollutants that could irritate your throat and lungs and perhaps aggravate any respiratory conditions like allergies or asthma.

Our Smoke Shop Has Top-Quality Wholesale Bongs

When you make your way to our wholesale smoke shop (where we also sell retail by the way) you will find one of the best collections of customized glass pipes anywhere. We take pride in the variety and quality of the bongs we carry and feedback from our customers indicates they also appreciate the quality of the products we offer. So next time you’re in the market for a new bong stop by Puffr in Denver. We’ve got bongs to satisfy everyone’s taste.