The Physics of Ice Skating - Main Page

Ever wondered how ice skating works? Whether you're a first-time flounderer or a triple-axle pro, you've probably wondered what's going on.  The purpose of these pages is to explore the physics of ice skating in a fun, approachable way.

What is the level of these pages? If you know physics, then ice skating provides great examples. But we don't assume you know much physics. We'll explain the physics terms and concepts as we go.

Topics

• Why is ice slippery under a blade or under shoes?  It's not because of your pressure on the ice, but because of poorly--understood surface physics. Weird, huh, that we don't understand it?   Here are several good articles on the topic: one article from the Exploratorium and another.
There's also a cover article in the Dec 2005 issue of Physics Today, and another article in the 21 Feb 2006 New York Times; neither are free online, but check your local library.
• The Exploratorium's Science of Hockey.
• Ice illustration of Newton's Second Law,  F = ma.
• Ice illustration of Newton's 3rd law - equal and opposite reactions...
• An energetic discussion of kinetic and potential energy.
• Let's compare the physics of ice skating and roller blading.
• A sticky subject:  friction.
• Where are the forces during a turn or spin?
• What's torque?
• A nifty thought-experiment:  baseball played on frictionless ice.
• For physics students: we've prepared a lab of a spin, viewed from above. Students will chart the skater's rotation over time, estimate the moments of inertia, and estimate the degree to which momentum is conserved.  Coming soon!

Cool Links:

• Penn State's Dynamic Physics
• The Physics of Jumping in Ice Skating
• Moments of Inertia In Ice Skating
• The Biomechanics of Jumping
• Technical Skating
• Letter about Ice Skating Physics from Mad Science
• Jump Movies
• PSIgate -- gateway to good Physical Science web resourses
  

Credits

       This site was created by two Penn State astronomy majors who thought it would be hilarious to get honors credit for gym class. After all, they kept thinking about the physics during skating class, anyway.  Thanks to the secretaries of the Honors College for their undoubtably incredulous cries of, "They want to honors option ice skating?!"  Ditto for our friends, our instructor and advisor... and to the letter E.