Campus Units
Mathematics
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
2004
Journal or Book Title
The UMAPJournal
Volume
25
Issue
4
First Page
375
Last Page
410
Abstract
We discuss the dynamics of ski skating, in particular, the optimization problem: Maximize average speed for a given power. We begin with a mathematical model of ski skating. To simplify the analysis, we limit our attention to ski skating with no poles on a level plane. We also limit our attention to the physics of ski skating; we ignore most biomechanical considerations. In the early days of skating, ski instructors often said: “Take a long glide on a flat ski.” Many skiers interpreted this to mean: “Take a passive glide, then give a short hard push to the side.” As an application of our theory, we show that this advice is wrong. We show that the skier should start pushing to the side as soon as possible.
Copyright Owner
COMAP, Inc.
Copyright Date
2004
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Driessel, Kenneth R.; Fink, Philip; and Hentzel, Irvin R., "The Dynamics of Ski Skating" (2004). Mathematics Publications. 148.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/math_pubs/148
Comments
This article is published as Driessel, Kenneth R., Philip Fink, and Irvin R. Hentzel. "The Dynamics of Ski Skating." UMAPJournal (2004): 375. Posted with permission.