Synthetic ice is polyethylene!

[Query]

For anyone interested in the science of skating:

AFAICT, synthetic ice surfaces are just linear polyethylene - almost the same thing as kitchen plastic wrap, but with a longer molecule length.

["Synthetic ice" here does not refer to the man-made water ice that most of us skate on in indoor rinks - it means a synthetic non-refrigerated surface people can (sort-of) skate on.]

It is nothing but a long line of carbon atoms, with 2 hydrogens per carbon:

      H H H H       H
   H-C-C-C-C- ...  C-H
      H H H H       H

Technically it is UHMWPE, Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, i.e., meaning that there are hundreds of thousands of Carbon atoms in each molecule, instead of 10's of thousands.

The carbon to carbon bonds in polyethylene are very strong, which I guess makes the surface is fairly durable. (UHMWPE has mostly replaced kevlar in bullet proof vests.) See http://www.pslc.ws/macrog/pe.htm

This site claims that "While not an exact substitute to skating on real ice, today's synthetic ice is as close you can get to a real ice skating experience." Obviously they are wrong - as close as you can get to skating on real ice IS skating on real ice.

But it is interesting to see that synthetic ice can be so simple.

[sampaguita]

Thanks for this info, Query! Much appreciated!

[Query]

BTW, another source says that the bonds aren't actually super-strong , but they stretch a fair bit without breaking - like plastic wrap.

Alas, I don't think you could make a practical synthetic ice rink out of plastic wrap. 

[irenar5]

Synthetic ice is sort of like a white plastic cutting board but with a lot of lubricant.

[sampaguita]

Synthetic ice is sort of like a white plastic cutting board but with a lot of lubricant.

Does anyone know what lubricant/s are used, and what lubricant/s is/are best? I think that glide, thickness of coating and possibility of corrosion are the main things to consider in choosing the lubricant.