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Garry Bettman, the commissioner of the NHL, seems to be worried about making Hockey popular in the USA. The problem is that in many states there is never any outdoor rinks where people first learn how to play.
The way skating works is as follows. The pressure from the skates forms a small amount of
liquid water from the ice. This allows the blade to slide along the ice.
I propose that the NHL replaces conventional skates with Solder skates. These skates will have blades that operate at high temperatures; high enough to melt the sheet of metal which will replace the ice, but also low enough that the metal becomes solid again very quickly.
With sheets of metal instead of sheets of ice, people will be able to play hockey all over the world, and then Garry Bettman will be able to increase his salary.
Low melting point metal alloy
http://en.wikipedia...wiki/Wood%27s_metal
A metal that melts at a much lower temperature than solder [Srimech, Nov 01 2007]
Lower melting point metal alloy
http://en.wikipedia.../wiki/Field's_metal
A metal that melts at a much lower temperature than Wood's metal [MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 01 2007]
Plastic 'Ice'
http://www.recordne...29/NEWS01/509290322
Couldn't find a better article quickly... [neutrinos_shadow, Nov 01 2007]
Eric Sodler
http://www.noosfere...f.asp?numlivre=7129
Il est un auter de fiction scientifique qui a une beacoup nom de plumes, which apparentament sont plus difficile pour le spellings, ou les misdirections typographique. [zen_tom, Nov 02 2007]
Stop like this on hot solder?
http://www1.istockp...key_skate_spray.jpg
Mine eyes! [rcarty, Nov 03 2007]
Why ice skating works
http://www.newscien...pery-character.html
Ice skating doesn't work because of the pressure, so the basic tenet is flawed. [m homola, Nov 06 2007]
More interesting info on the top layer of ice.
http://www.edwardwi...com/Columns/ice.htm
100x more electrically conductive than ice [Ling, Nov 06 2007]
[link]
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How on Earth can one play hockey whilst
skating? |
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There are metal alloys that melt at a much lower temperature than solder. I have linked one. I wouldn't like to think about the cost of making a whole skating rink out of one though... |
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Re link - Field's metal melts at a much
lower temperature than Wood's metal
(abouit 60°C). It's also relatively non-
toxic, and only slightly more expensive
than silver. |
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Eric Sodler, 1943-1981, inventor of the
Wood's Metal Skating Rink. |
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There's also plastic 'ice' skating available. <linky> |
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[jhomrighaus] Solder is an alloy of tin and lead (and sometimes traces of other things) that melts at a relatively low temperature. It's probably well known to a lot of engineers because it's useful for making electric circuits and joining pipes for plumbing. |
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This could not be cost-effective... metal corrodes when exposed to the elements, so you'd have to constantly replace it, which is much more expensive than simply resurfacing an ice rink with water. |
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I know what SOLDER is! What is SODLER? |
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jhom, from Max's anno above: |
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//Eric Sodler, 1943-1981, inventor of the Wood's Metal Skating Rink.// |
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Does that answer your question? It's a name. |
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<Must.......
resist......
temptation.....
to......
laugh.....> |
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Yes, sadly Sodler died at the age of 38 when trying out the next stage of his idea - electric powered skating just like the dodgem cars. He placed a huge electric grid over the rink, strapped a metal pole to his back and promptly sank into the now liquid metal floor. |
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He had a skin of solid metal when they finally got him out. I think that's where they got the idea of the Cybermen from in Doctor Who, but I might have made that last part up. |
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(If that 'plastic ice', as shown in [neutrino]'s link, is anything like the fixture they have outside Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh then it will be crap. |
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It was a big backward step into the 'future'. Spent a while convincing the kids that they hadn't suddenly forgotten how to skate while visiting the UK. |
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Sad thing is it will have been some kids' first exposure to skating and no doubt their last.) |
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There are persitant rumors that Sodler may not have died after all but may have moved on to a life of crime fighting as the Silver Surfer. |
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//He had a skin of solid metal when
they finally got him out.// The sad
thing is that the first person on the
scene failed to realize that the lifelike
metal statue actually had Sodler inside.
Due to an administrative error, he was
put in storage for several months while
the building changed hands. The new
owners had him on a plinth in the lobby
for a further three months before a
visitor recognized him and put two and
two together (it was the frozen 'oh sh..'
expression on his face that raised their
suspicions). By that time, the "statue"
had started to bulge as a result of the
build-up of decay gases, not unlike a
gruesome can of Surstromming. They
had to evacuate the building and bring
in a specialist team to remove him, in
case he exploded. For several years
thereafter, the metal "shell" (which had
to be cut open, but was then
reassembled minus its contents) was
exhibited in one of those "Believe it Or
Not" museums just outside Topeka,
until it was crushed when the World's
Largest Peanut fell on it in a freak
accident. The whereabouts of the
flattened statue are now unknown,
though Sodler's remains were cremated
and are now kept by his family. |
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What [Max] said first. How can you play hockey whilst skating? Would that not really confuse the game? |
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This could get a little dangerous around the goal with molten metal being flung up by fast approaching attackers skates as they stop to take the shot. |
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[zen_tom] Look at the cover of the book in your link, the author of the page made the same error. |
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"The pen name of a science fiction author which is apparently difficult to spell without typographical errors". Terse translation of zen_tom's link description from my basic Canadian French education, implies he noticed the coincidence. LA SODLIARITE ! |
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not being gifted in the art of french canadian speakerating I did not know that. I tip my hat to our francophonic friend. |
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Merci beaucoup! C'est juste un matter de swapping le odd word en Francaise, et passez le sentence sur une manglé grammatique! |
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Yo hablo espanol un poco, no habla Frenazo. La linguas auque semejante presente distinto. |
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Iay lsoay peaksay igpay atinlay. |
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Yeah, well, I'm fluent in gerbil Polish. |
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Wouldn't the horses drown? |
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No, they'd become statues, like that poor brave Sodler boy. |
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Gerbil polish? For getting the stains off your gerbil? Not going to enquire as to the nature of the stain, just so long as the little fella made it out alive. |
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Not "Gerbil polish", "gerbil Polish". It's like
pig-Latin but higher pitched. |
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welcome to the halfbakery [Allstar], if you
are "new" - have a croissant [+] |
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Ice skating does not actually function due to any pressure. The thin layer of liquid water (a few molecules thick) exists on the surface of the crystal structure because the water molecules on the surface don't have any support for their crystal form at the air-ice surface. This is why ice is slippery in general, not just when you have skates on. The thickness of this layer reduces as the temperature drops. That's why cross country skiing and ice skating get harder when it's colder. Based on the above, I'm not sure if solder skating, or sodler skating, could actually function. If you stood still would you just keep sinking? The idea of being able to skate in any climate is definitely appealing. |
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See link about conductivity of ice. If on solder, a high current could be passed under the blades to melt it. By the way, lead/tin is now not used, and new regulations are in force. However, I have a concern about the lifetime of the soldering joints. The lead/tin goes brittle in about 15 years. But the new eutectic alloy? I don't know, but it will potentially affect most electrical appliance lifespans. |
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