Physics of skiing

The Physics of skiing refers to the analysis of forces applied on a skier using the discipline of physics. A common question any analytical thinker might ask is: "Do big people go faster?". The answer is yes, to an extent. This is because heavier people can get more potential energy and also since larger skis move faster, to an extent. The reason larger skis generally move faster is basically because the weight is spread out and less force is applied per unit snow, allowing the skis to glide on the thin water coating on the top of the snow. Of course, there are many complications. For instance, heavier people may not be able to turn as well.

Friction is what allows you to stay in control while skiing. It is what slows you down. You apply wax to the base of your skis to try and reduce this in order to go faster. In ski racing it is the person who allows the least amount of friction between themselves the snow and air who wins. But without friction we would not be able to experience the true joy of skiing. There are several ways to model this friction, and also theories on ideal carves. The equation for determining the coefficient of friction is =Fn/Ff. You can determine how much force the friction is creating by using the equation, Ff=(Fn). Ff equals the force created by the friction, Fn equals the force perpendicular to the direction of travel.

External links

* [http://library.thinkquest.org/C003978/physics.html More general information on the physics of skiing, including basic principals of mass, acceleration, torque, etc]
* [http://www.math.utah.edu/~eyre/rsbfaq/physics.html Math models of the physics of skiing]
* [http://citebase.eprints.org/cgi-bin/citations?id=oai:arXiv.org:physics/0310086 Paper on carving]
* [http://adg.stanford.edu/aa241/structures/weights.html The square-cube law in aircraft design]