Energy

Energy

Principles of Energy

• Kinetic Energy
• Gravitational Potential Energy
• Spring Potential Energy

Kinetic Energy

Kinetic energy is related to energy gained by mass and velocity, and is measured in joules. This is important in snowboarding because it determines ow quickly a rider will be able to speed up. The heavier a rider is, the less kinetic energy he will need to get big air off a jump, because he will speed up quickly on the slope.  The opposite of this is a light rider, who will need ample time to speed up before getting big air off a jump. Not enough kinetic energy can lead to a rider not clearing a jump and getting seriously injured.

Gravitational potential energy

Gravitational Potential Energy is a type of energy that measures the amount of energy an object gains from doing work against the gravitational force. The amount of GPE that an object has is directly related to the change in height of the object while doing work against the gravitational force, the mass of the object, and the force from gravity. We know from physics class that the acceleration of gravity is -9.8m/s2 with the negative signifying direction. 

Snowboarders increase their GPE by using chairlifts. Chairlifts do work against the gravitational force by lifting their occupants up the slopes of the mountain. The chairlift converts mechanical energy (from the motor that runs them) to GPE in the snowboarder, which is stored in the height that the snowboarder reaches at the top of the chairlift. The snowboarder then converts the GPE to Kinetic energy when boarding down the slope. 

Spring Potential energy

Spring Potential Energy is a quantity used to describe the amount of energy that can be stored up in a spring. When a spring is compressed it stores energy that is directly related to the distance the spring is compressed in meters. A snowboard acts very much like a spring. When the rider leans on the snowboard and causes it to bend at the middle, the board stores spring potential energy related to the amount it is bent. New designs in snowboards are playing with where the spring comes from in the board. 

All about board designs is explained in this video, notice the different designs and how they will affect spring. 

The different materials that snowboards are made with vary with the way that the boarder rides. For boarders who like to do lots of activities in the terrain park, such as jumping and rails, it is important to have a flexible board. A flexible board allows the rider to bend the board further, which creates more spring potential energy, allowing them to jump higher. For boarders who prefer to ride powder and do less in the terrain park, they usually use a stiffer board, allowing them better control over carving and turning.