Skating Spin Physics Demo

[Isk8NYC]

Steve Spangler is a science education guru who did this cool demonstration about figure skating spins.

Ice skaters are not only talented on the ice, but they also have a great understanding of physics as the jump, twist and spin. If you've ever seen seen an ice skater start to spin slowly on the tip of their skate and then speed up into an incredible blur of a spin, the secret is pure science. The best part is that you don't have to be on the ice to test out the science behind the spin. Find an office chair that spins easily and a few weights and you're ready to make yourself dizzy sick. But it's all in the name of science.

[FigureSpins]

Not sure if it is accurate, but these videos attempts to highlight the physics of skating jumps, spins and spirals.







I think the skater's technique is a little wonky, particularly the FI backspin

[Isk8NYC]

This is just for fun - what a CW skater (Johnny Weir) sees when he's spinning:

http://www.figureskatersonline.com/johnnyweir/home/2013/05/johnny-weir-shows-us-what-spinning-really-fast-feels-like/