The Physics of Skateboarding essays

The Physics of Skateboarding essays With only a 2x4 on roller skate wheels, skateboarding started in the early 50's. Back then skateboarding was only riding downhill from point A to point B. With the help from physics, the hobby of skateboarding has changed into a worldwide sport. The physics in this growing sport has created a change for a better design and materials. With the knowledge of physics and better skateboards, the new breed of skaters now use many different tricks while on the street, in a skate park, or on the vert ramps. It may seem that some of those tricks are breaking the rules of physics, but the skaters are only using them for their advantage. To understand, you will need to know a few terms. First, you will need to know the anatomy of the skateboard. The deck is board itself, usually made from maple. On the deck, there is grip tape. The grip tape is sandpaper on the board which helps to create friction between the skater and the deck. Trucks are the axles that connect the wheels to the deck. The nose is the front truck and the tail is the back truck. The wheels are the last part of the board which come in a range of sizes for different people's needs. The basis to most skateboarding tricks in the Ollie. When a skateboarder Ollies, he or she is using a jumping technique that physics has shown us. This trick happens when the skater is tapping the tail on the board on the ground and can jump in the air with the board. It may look like the board is attached to the skaters feet, but what is really happening is that the skateboarder is pushing down on the board. This is called the Paradoxical Maneuver, which is the rotation around multiple axes. There are three forces acting on the board during the ollie trick. The first force is the weight on the rider on the board. The second force is the gravity acting on the board. The third force is of the ground pressing up on the skateboarder. After these three forces li ...