Physics of Skiing :: physics ski skiing

The sport of skiing has been around for thousands of years, originally existing solely as a form of transportation. Today the sport is entirely dependent upon the laws of physics, and has even had advancements through reliance on physics. There are two types of Nordic Skiing. These are Classic (or diagonal) and Skate Skiing. Usually these two forms are raced separate. To be fair, there are actually two slightly different forms of skate skiing; V1 and V2. As these can get very very complicated and precise in the technique, I will focus mainly on classic skiing, which is also the type of skiing that most people are familiar with. Cross-Country Skiing is the most basic form of skiing, even preceding downhill skiing. Primitive skis may have even been used about 3000 B.C. in Norway. There have been cave drawing found that seem to depict men on skis. Skiing has its roots in Scandinavia; Vikings used skis as a form of transportation in the 10th century A.D. Early skis were made of wood, and even the word ski comes from the Norse word skith a stick of wood. Norse skies were very rudimentary, little more than snowshoes. Glide was little to none. It was not until the early 1800s when Sondre Norheim changed the face of skiing and gave skis glide that the sport was introduced to the world. Competitive skiing started in the late 1800s, again in Norway. In the 1932 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, Nordic Skiing as we know it was added. Today the sport has evolved to be both extremely competitive and leisurely. In the past 30 years the sport has changed dramatically, adding skis made of synthetic materials, and utilizing waxes for improved speed. Physicists have been at the front line of all this; from determining the coefficent of friction for both the wax and the ski, to helping skiers change their technique based on the laws of physics. To maximize speed, Nordic skiing is more about form than probably any other sport. Brute strength and athletic prowess certainly have their advantages, but these pale in comparision to proper technique. While the shape of classic skis is slightly different than that of skate skis, the real difference is that classic skis have a "kick zone." This is a spot directly underneath the foot that has kick wax applied to it. Kick wax is a sticky poly-hydrocarbon that in theory is only supposed to provide a sticky surface from which to push back from.