The act of ice skating is a miracle of physics

[gkelly]

Here's an article about the physics of ice skating, particularly the effects on and of the ice itself:

The act of ice skating is a miracle of physics

While ice itself is slick, slippery, and difficult to navigate across under most circumstances, skaters easily glide across the ice.

bigthink.com

But here's a passage that sums up what the fundamentals of figure skating are all about:

...if you put thin blades on the bottoms of your shoes — e.g., wear ice skates — you’ll discover that the situation is very much different in this case. As long as you can remain on your feet, with only your blades touching the ice, you’ll find that you can control your motion relatively easily, simply by applying forces through your feet (and the blades) to the ice down below. You can speed up, slow down, or change direction at will...

As the sport has matured over the last couple of centuries, controlling that motion has allowed skaters to perform ever more complex moves on and above the ice. But at heart, it's always about controlling the motion of the blades through the motions of the body.

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

Thank you with this very interesting introduction, with very clear illustrations (of course they can't cram more notions in a mere article), now we need articles to explain why skating ice needs many thin layers rather than one block, why ice dancers need warmer ice than Singles and Pairs, and the effects of edge work...

 

[WednesdayMarch]

"...you’ll find that you can control your motion relatively easily, simply by applying forces through your feet (and the blades) to the ice down below. You can speed up, slow down, or change direction at will..."

Remind me to tell that to the beginners...

 

[el henry]

Thank you, I loved the article, even though I understand less of science than I do of math, but I tried.

I vaguely knew that ice for figure skating was warmer, but did not know the specifics:

those who maintain ice rinks leverage this to best suit the type of athletic activities that are taking place. If you’re a figure skater, you’ll generally prefer softer ice, and so an ice rink that caters to figure skating will generally keep the ice temperature at around 25 to 29 °F (-4 to -2 °C). This makes jumping and landing on the ice a slightly easier prospect than if the ice were kept colder

On the other hand, if you value faster gliding, don’t have much use for jumping, and especially if you want an object (like a hockey puck) to move in a predictable fashion, with little sticking or bouncing, you’ll want colder, harder ice. Ice hockey rinks, as a result, are generally kept at a colder on-ice temperature of about 17 to 24 °F (-8 to -4 °C). It’s also why figure skaters and hockey players have different types of ice skates and blades: they’re optimized not only for different movements, but for different properties of ice!

 

[Mathman]

... those who maintain ice rinks leverage this to best suit the type of athletic activities that are taking place. If you’re a figure skater, you’ll generally prefer softer ice, and so an ice rink that caters to figure skating will generally keep the ice temperature at around 25 to 29 °F (-4 to -2 °C). This makes jumping and landing on the ice a slightly easier prospect than if the ice were kept colder

It used to happen every now and then that the skaters would complain en masse about the ice. I remember one world championship qualifying round where the ice in the morning was too cold, but it warmed up as the session progressed. The first few skaters had a terrible time, and the later competitors all scored higher and received better placements for the SP.

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

It used to happen every now and then that the skaters would complain en masse about the ice. I rmember one world championship qualifying round where the ice in the morning was too cold, but it warmed up as the session progressed. The first few skaters had a terrible time, and the later competitors all scored higher and received better placements for the SP.

I feel uneasy as a French, with all the bad ice with puddles endured by competitors during years at French Grand Prix.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Thank you with this very interesting introduction, with very clear illustrations (of course they can't cram more notions in a mere article), now we need articles to explain why skating ice needs many thin layers rather than one block, why ice dancers need warmer ice than Singles and Pairs, and the effects of edge work...

ice dancers need softer ice due to the difference in the way the blade is made and the edges. As well as very deep knee bend and technique, and patterns among many many other things.

 

[Mathman]

@Ic3Rabbit, if you don't mind a personal question, at the current stage of your professional career do you use different skates for singles and for dance?

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

@Ic3Rabbit, if you don't mind a personal question, at the current stage of your professional career do you use different skates for singles and for dance?

Yes and I have my whole career: Both amateur and pro. Ice dance blades are much different than freestyle blades. Shorter tail, different/smaller picks, different rocker, etc...
Competitive ice dancers would risk tripping and badly injuring themself and partner wearing singles blades, the tails would risk stepping on, hitting or hooking among other issues.

 

[EdgeCall]

Yes and I have my whole career: Both amateur and pro. Ice dance blades are much different than freestyle blades. Shorter tail, different/smaller picks, different rocker, etc...
Competitive ice dancers would risk tripping and badly injuring themself and partner wearing singles blades, the tails would risk stepping on, hitting or hooking among other issues.

Thanks for the info, Ic3Rabbit. May I ask if there is a difference in the gliding properties of the blade, like rocker radius, hollow radius, edge sharpness etc. ?