| Conclusion It’s official, all skaters practise physics. They expertly exert different forces on the board, making it seem as though they are defying gravity. Although they’re very talented, top skaters would be nowhere without the equipment that science has developed. Materials used to make skateboards are carefully selected for their properties. For instance, the board itself is almost always made from maple wood. Alternative materials have been tried, from epoxy with fibreglass, to carbon-loaded thermoplastic nylon. But nothing else has the combination of toughness, elasticity, feel and response of a laminated sugar maple board. |
| Method Here’s how the skater in the picture ‘gets air’. Don’t try this unless you know what you’re doing. 1. Whilst skating forward he shifts his weight onto the foot at the very back of the board. He stamps down hard, making the board pivot on its back wheels so that the front of the board lifts up. As the back end of the board hits the ground, it causes the whole board to spring up into the air. 2. Transferring his weight forward, he slides his front foot to the front of the board. Because of the friction between his foot and the rough surface, the board is forced up even higher. 3. As the back of the board rises, he lifts his back leg up and out of the way. Timing this perfectly, it looks like his foot is ‘stuck’ to the board. |
