Hot blades

Reuters reports that some NHL players are going to be testing skates with electrically-heated blades.

Ice skates work by gliding on a thin film of water on the ice. Heating the blade would create more water by melting the ice, thus less friction between blade and ice, meaning the players could skate faster, or at the same speed while expending less energy.

(I always thought that the normal thin film of water under the blade was created by the melting of the ice due to the compression of the ice under the blade, but I went looking for a link explaining that and found that this explanation is under dispute now.)

The NHL does not plan to allow the skates in games just yet. But, how would they catch a player who tried to sneak a pair into a game?

I have never ice-skated.

Posted: Thu - October 18, 2007 at 02:34 PM

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Hot blades

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