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The physics of hockey

hockey(12)

Pucks

    The pucks that are used for hockey were very carefully designed. The rubbery material that they're made of makes it so that they react reasonably when hit by the hockey stick while also not being too hard to where they would always break bones upon contact with a player. They're also made so that they don't go to fast on the ice so that they're uncontrollable. To do this they had to choose a material that has a large enough coefficient of friction so the puck doesn't go too fast while also having a small enough coefficient of friction that the puck still glides on the ice for a decent distance before slowing down and stopping.

Skates/Blades


    Hockey blade(13)

    Hockey skate blades are simple but effective for what they're meant to do. Going down the length of the blade there are sharp edges with a hollowed arch in between them. The edges serve to dig into and glide on the ice so that the skater can move and the arch serves to stream the water and ice brought up from the edges so that the blade doesn't get thrown from its intended course and so that the skater can control the blades or else they would just slide everywhere.

Sticks

    The sticks used for hockey are actually rather simple as well. The shaft is uniform from the head to the grip, usually wood or plastic. The grip is able 2.5-3 hand widths so that the player can get a proper grip. The head can be about 1-2 feet long with a  slight curved face(curve depends on handiness) so that the puck gets proper spin when hit. One important thing about the rules of using the hockey stick in game is that a player may only wind up up to his/her waist when shooting. This is because if any farther was allowed the puck would gain too much acceleration where it would be dangerous.

Happy Gilmore hockey scene(14)


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