Aerial Skiing
By Ali Ray
Interduction
First you're gliding down a hill at 45 miles a hour, then flying up the ramp,then going almost 50 feet in the air- this sport is awesome!
How it's Played
Aerial skiers don't just go off the ramp- they'd crash when he or she touched the ground. They have to use their arms to land safely on the ground. The arm movements help them to land on their feet, not on their head.
Skis
Skis are made of fiberglass today. Before they were made of fiberglass, they were made of wood, like on cartoons. But now, in real life, they aren't.
Aerialists sometimes wrap their skis in more fiberglass to reduce friction.
Skis are made with medal on the side to grip onto the snow so they don't crash.
Epoxy makes skis smooth Another word for epoxy is polymer, which is a fancy name for plastic. They also coat their skis in wax to reduce friction.
The Science of Aerial Skiers
Every rotating mass has angular momentum, which comes from torque- a force causing an object in the air to rotate, called contact twisting, and it's created by how he or she pushes off the ramp.
Push off is very important, because when they are in the air, they can't change their angular momentum.
Their moment of inertia is when they move their arms and legs in and out to "steer" them in the air, because a bad landing is bad.
The cool thing is that cats use it, too! That's why they always land on all four of their legs. They have special moments to do it.
Conclution
I bet you never knew that sports have science, but they do. Maybe you be an aerialist some day!