Woo game two of the preseason series between the nucks and sharks.

GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! GO Sharks! 

Woo Sharks Hockey! Nucks vs. Sharks. First Hockey game of the season for me. Gotta admit kinda weird to watch hockey when it was 100+ here in SLO today. 

GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS GO SHARKS 

That shall do

I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! I want pronger! Go FLYERS!

Here is the rough draft of my hockey physics paper. Proofing and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks 

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Physics of a Hockey Shot

         Hockey is a game full of brutal fights and great finesse, but one of the most interesting aspects is the physics behind the different ways to shoot the hockey puck and the sticks that are used to create the shots. In hockey there are a multitude of shot options, but a couple of the most popular are the slap shot and the wrist shot. Each type of shot uses separate laws of physics to explain the mechanics behind them. The slap shot uses momentum from the rotation of a players’ torso and transfer of weight in the legs to generate power. Wrist shots use more of a spring-like effect from the shaft of the hockey stick. The type of stick that a player uses affects all of these shots; which can vary according to flex, material, and blade curvature. Physics helps explain the way that each of these shots and the power behind them is created.

The shot with the most power is the slap shot. Slap Shots are created using a full swing of the hockey stick from hip height behind the puck, and accelerated all the way through to hip height in front of the player. The power of the slap shot is generated through the "torque," or rotational momentum of a players swing. Momentum is the force behind a moving object; it can be described as mass multiplied by velocity.  Torque is created in the player by rotating the torso and transferring weight from one side of their body to the other. This rotation combined with the stick creates linear momentum on the puck at the end of the stick blade. In order to impart more force on the puck, players often hit 2-4 inches behind the puck on the ice; this causes the stick to flex and store energy just like a coiled spring. This stored energy, known as potential energy, is changed to kinetic energy upon contacting the puck, giving it an extra boost of force. This can cause a great acceleration in the puck coming from a skilled player’s stick, with shots having been recorded in excess of 100 miles per hour.

While not as powerful as the slap shot, the wrist shot provides much more control and accuracy. The wrist shot is taken by pressing down on the hockey stick, causing it to flex, and quickly snapping the wrists forward with the stick. The power in the shot is provided from two different sources; the potential energy of the flexed stick, and the impulse of the stick blade on the puck.  By pushing down on the hockey stick, the player causes the shaft to bend, storing potential energy. The quick release of wrists causes the shaft to whip, unleashing kinetic energy into the puck. While the kinetic energy provides the shot with some power, the impulse generates additional force. Impulse is the change of momentum in an object; two of the key factors in determining impulse are force, and amount of time in contact. In a wrist shot the puck never leaves the stick until the shot is released. By keeping the puck on the stick the period of time in contact increases, creating additional force on the puck. The longer the time in contact, the greater the impulse and force on the puck. Wrist shots are often shot range, quick release shots, meant to beat the defense by sheer surprise.

When first introduced as team sport decades ago hockey used wooden sticks with flat blades and no loft, made exclusively from Rock Elm. Hockey companies have come a long way, using space age materials to compose their sticks, and adding face angles and curves to the blades. When looking down at a current hockey stick blade you will notice that the blade has a slight curve, allowing for the puck to come to a common place at the focus point of the curve. The blade could also have an angle to the face, somewhat like a golf club. While the curve of the stick’s blade has mostly to do with a players’ ability to keep the puck under control, the angle of the blade face changes the angular momentum imparted on the puck. The more the angle on the face of the blade, the easier it is to get the puck to rise off the ice, the lower the angle the lower the shot. The more angled faces allow players’ to put the puck into the top corners of the 4-foot net from just a few feet away.

            Each shot in hockey incorporates different laws and principles of physics. The slap shot requires torque from the player’s body to create rotational momentum and transfers linear momentum to the puck. Wrist shots employ a coiled-spring effect by flexing the stick and storing potential energy and then quickly releasing it as kinetic energy when the player follows through with his wrists. A sticks’ composition affects the ways in which the properties of physics are applied to the puck. With the technology advances that are being made in the hockey equipment industry, the complexity of the physics behind shooting a hockey puck will only increase.