History
The first known application of plastics as a substitute for ice for the purpose of ice skating was in the 1960s using materials such as polyoxymethylene plastic which was developed by DuPont in the early 1950s. The polymers used at the time had some significant shortcomings. The most obvious being that skaters could not glide on these surfaces as they can on real ice without the regular application of a silicone compound. The compound would build up on the surface, collecting dirt and grime.
In 1994, High Density Plastics launched the first full-size synthetic skating floor under the trade name of Hi Den Ice. The surface was made of interlocking panels of high density polyethylene which became an ice rink when sprayed with a gliding fluid. The surface needed to be cleaned off and resprayed once a month. In a dry form, the panels were also usable for other indoor sports.
Research and development in the field of synthetic ice has improved its skating characteristics. Special polymer materials have been specifically engineered for skating and unique lubricants designed to work with the polymer and be absorbed by it so that the surface is less sticky and does not attract contaminants while providing an ice-like glide. Smoothness between panels at seams has been improved by improvements in production and assembly methods. It is estimated that synthetic ice has 90% of the glide factor of natural ice.
Read more about this topic: Synthetic Ice
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“Every generation rewrites the past. In easy times history is more or less of an ornamental art, but in times of danger we are driven to the written record by a pressing need to find answers to the riddles of today.... In times of change and danger when there is a quicksand of fear under men’s reasoning, a sense of continuity with generations gone before can stretch like a lifeline across the scary present and get us past that idiot delusion of the exceptional Now that blocks good thinking.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)
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“All history and art are against us, but we still expect happiness in love.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)