We can relate almost any topic back to science. This being that there are numerous forms of science. Let’s talk about something that is barely discussed. Fall is approaching, which gets people excited for autumn activities. This is the perfect season in my opinion. Football is one of the biggest excitements that tend to start off the season. The majority of us follow a specific professional or collegiate team. Me? My heart is set on hockey.

Not many people enjoy watching hockey. Maybe it is too fast paced or maybe because people just do not understand it. Could even be due to the fact that this sport does not have a game for the games. What I mean by this is most people don’t play fantasy hockey or form a bracket for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But let’s get back to the main point. Most of us do not relate sports to science. That’s where we are wrong my friends. How? Well you could say the injuries are connected to Neuroscience or getting into other players heads is a form of psychological thinking. Although we need to talk about what is below the brain… the ice!

I think we all have the basic idea of ice… just frozen water. But is it that easy? Preparing a rink is more than just pouring gallons of water into a floor and cranking the air conditioning. There is a proper method of layering. Each layer contains a specific amount of water. Too little of an amount of water placed on the area will cause a thin layer of ice. This would make it easier for players to slice the ice open. Not good. In hockey, there are two ways to talk about ice. These terms are fast ice and slow ice. Fast ice is what players love to skate on. There is a significant less amount of ‘slush’ on the surface; i.e. it is more slippery. One would assume that the terms ‘slush’ and ‘slippery’ are the same concepts because we slip on sloshy snow

Slippery ice makes it ten times easier for skates, sticks and pucks to freely slide. It’s a logical thought to think the water on top of ice is formed by any type of friction or pressure from the weight of each player. It has been determined that this water substance accumulates from a layer of ice. A more water-like layer is put into effect during the ice process. This layer is said to be about “one molecule thick”. Technically the ability to skate is done by vibrating molecules.The water molecules needed on the ice vibrate so rapidly that it is unseen by the naked eye. These molecules are only able to move up and down. Too much liquid would form if the molecules were moving from side to side.

So now we know that vibrating molecules help the players to skate, but how does one truly skate? Sure, there are your basic skills of skating. How does this action occur? They work with gravity of course! The gravity will pull on a players center mass which causes them to lean. The gravity puts more force on the bottom half of their body. Note that if the players use this technique while they are not accelerating it will result in falling over. As for the the ability to move, that is represented by initial momentum. That would lead us into an entirely different type of science.

Just like hockey players we all have very fast past lives. On most given days the majority of us do not stop to smell the roses. Before taking this class I sometimes thought in depth on certain topics but not to this extent. To think there is science behind almost everything is quite intriguing. Let us see what else we can discover!

http://www.exploratorium.edu/hockey/skating1.html

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/ice-rink4.htm