Hockey and Physics

Ice hockey is one sport that has the widest array of physics elements in it. One of the most exciting events in hockey is the slapshot. The hockey players use this technique to send a puck flying through the air at over 150 km/h or more. The slapshot is a collision between the puck and the hockey stick. The upper body has to wind up and begin an acceleration of the middle of the body, shoulers, and arms. Then the stick black comes into contact with the puck and the ice, causing the stick to bend accumulate potential energy. Finally, the puck leaves the stick and returns to its origanal shape as the puck heads towards the net. The scientist assume the collision to be an elastic collision with the stick and the hockey player, and the puck. The is plenty of elasticity in the stick to make it a fair approximation. Iwi=Iwf + rmv, where I, wi, and wf are the moment of inertia of the player and stick system, and its angular velocity just before and after the collision. The puck of mass lies at a distance of the axis of rotation of the player and leave with a velocity. The puck speed is proportional to the spinning velocity of the player. The larger I is, the faster the slapshot, and this is where body mass and positioning come into play. In the limit when I mr^2, the puck reaches a max velocity of v=2wir. The speed limit as close to that of what occurs in linear collisions. The trick to getting the speed on a slapshot would be the ice. The stick must hit the ice and glide on the ice before hitting the puck. The thing is to hit the ice with the stick about thirty centimeters away from the puck. The outcome is more bending of the stick and more power to the puck. The player pushes against the ice to let the stick bend, and then they let the stick do the rest of the work. Hockey is the fastest and most contact sport in the world. Hockey players complete a lap around the rink in about fourteen seconds starting from rest. They are getting an average velocity of forty km/hr. Though rarely happening at maximum speed, collisions send significant impact forces to the body. In the collision the amount of kinetic energy used is the factor determining the impact force and injury to the player. Hockey is a very contact sport. Scientist have found equations and ways to figure out the forces of hockey. Hockey is a sport where potential energy is turned into kinetic energy.