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
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“I cannot be much pleased without an appearance of truth; at least of possibility—I wish the history to be natural though the sentiments are refined; and the characters to be probable, though their behaviour is excelling.”
—Frances Burney (1752–1840)
“Man watches his history on the screen with apathy and an occasional passing flicker of horror or indignation.”
—Conor Cruise O’Brien (b. 1917)
“I am ashamed to see what a shallow village tale our so-called History is. How many times must we say Rome, and Paris, and Constantinople! What does Rome know of rat and lizard? What are Olympiads and Consulates to these neighboring systems of being? Nay, what food or experience or succor have they for the Esquimaux seal-hunter, or the Kanaka in his canoe, for the fisherman, the stevedore, the porter?”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)