Synthetic ice (Photo courtesy of okchem.com).
Here’s a sneak peek ahead of Forkball’s podcast, which I co-host called “Tailgate Update,” that is released every Monday on YouTube (you’re welcome!).
We talked about a certain NHL team that has a very cool new philanthropic idea. This new idea just happens to include synthetic ice. A substance none of us understood. I figured we couldn’t be the only ones, so I thought I would hash out with y’all exactly what synthetic ice is.
Non-Synthetic Ice Tangent
Before we get into the whole synthetic fake ice thing, my spicy mind demands that we discuss the euphemism “Sam Hill.” When you grow up in a fundamentalist religion or cult, you get very creative with expletives.
I blame that and the time I spent in the South for picking up on this phrase. Who Sam Hill is can be considered a far more pressing question than what synthetic ice is made out of.
Ironically, the most substantiated theory behind the origin of the euphemism is the devil or hell. Apparently, back in the 1830s, a popular German opera was performed in New York, and the name of the devil was Samiel, which ends up being pronounced more like Sam Hill. I bet the church ladies wouldn’t appreciate that. But no one ever accused us of being in that group because we had big brains.
How About That Ice?
Apparently, my assumption that the ice we all have been breaking our ankles on all these years at birthday parties is made of frozen water is naive.
No, we were slipping around on sheets of plastic. Polyethylene plastic. Chemistry wasn’t a strong suit of mine, so we won’t get to the molecular level. But it is interesting that these sheets are made of the same plastic that is used to make plastic bags and bottles. The white, waxy substance can have varying levels of density. Which is how the plastic can form all of these materials at once.
The polyethylene plastic is formed into solid sheets that connect together like puzzle pieces. There are some different methods to put the panels together, but it’s tedious enough that probably only ice engineers would find that interesting. Many sizes of rinks can be incorporated. Some require more sheets, and some less.
The Evolution Of Synthetic Ice In Sports
Polyethylene plastic was invented in the 1860s. However, it wasn’t used for the purpose of ice rinks until the 1960s. The first big ice rink using synthetic ice was in the 1980s. Apparently, this made it easier to create and maintain rinks and allowed more of the general public to have access to them.
It’s probably not a surprise for readers that skating on sheets of plastic wasn’t exactly smooth sailing at first. A slip surface liquid had to be applied (again and again and again) to the ice so it felt water-like. If the ice was too thin, it would fall apart quickly (a common problem), and if it was too thick, it would destroy people’s skates. The synthetic ice had to be replaced frequently due to breakdown.
The mixing of the slip surface liquid with the synthetic ice being formed into sheets made the constant reapplication of the liquid unnecessary. However, they still need the Zamboni (read more about those here) to make the surface smoother, but it’s less often and a fairly quick process than in the early days.
Synthetic ice doesn’t act exactly like water. People smarter than me describe the friction that exists between the skate and plastic vs. the skate and water. In other words, the very best fake ice rink feels 90% like a real ice rink. There will be 10% or more friction with the polyethylene plastic.
Is Water Ice That Difficult To Maintain?
Apparently so.
Firstly, water needs to be treated most of the time. The water needs to be nearly element-free. Most rinks will need to treat the water with a reverse osmosis system. If you have element-filled water, it will be cloudier and create ice shavings or snow development, which makes skating more difficult.
Secondly, you will need a freezing system that can keep 160 gallons of water frozen. The more elements water has, the harder your freezing system will need to work to keep it frozen.
To make things more complicated, the ideal thickness, smoothness, and temperature of the ice vary by sport. What’s ideal for figure skating is not the same as what’s ideal for ice skating or curling. Who would have guessed? A full table on ideal water ice conditions can be found here.
Well, there you have it, folks. We now have all the deets on synthetic ice (and the origin of the phrase “Sam Hill”). Make sure to catch our podcast today to see what’s going on with a new synthetic ice rink and how it relates to the NHL.
Fun fact: the NHL uses water-only ice in all of their arenas. The suspense builds on this synthetic ice rink.
