In this science article by Henry Fountain, “Up in the Air, and Down, With a Twist” the science in the tricks that freestyle aerialists perform, are discussed. Freestyle aerialists ski and jump high into the air and perform tricks such as twisting and turning in all different directions and landing the jump at the end. Mr. Fountain divulges into the science behind each jump which fits into the category of physics. The basic ideas of performing the tricks have to do with rotational inertia, momentum, and the force that you take off of the ramp. Every angle is important so that the skier lands safely and correctly. This type of skiing is a major event in the Olympics and will be in the coming Olympics in Vancouver. A freestyle aerialist, Ryan St. Onge is interviewed in the article. He discusses what he does during the jumps and how he feels afterwards. Mr. St. Onge says that he barely feels any pain afterwards because almost all the crashes he has, and everyone has, are never that bad. Mr. St. Onge must keep everything perfect so that physics allows him to do what he wants in the air just by wiggling a little bit or taking off at a certain angle.
This article is very important to me and to society for variety of reasons. The article is very important to me because I ski even though I do not do a lot of big jumps. I now love to ski although I just started last year. When I read this article it inspires me to become a better skier and to learn how science can help me with my skiing. This article is also important to society because many people all over the world ski. Almost all my friends and all my parents’ friends ski, and skiing is making people all over the world fall in love with it. I chose the article because it was interesting and discussed a topic that I could connect to.
I like this article a great deal for several reasons. It takes doing a lot of complicated stuff such as, twisting, turning, and flipping high above the ground into something as simple as a formula for rotational momentum. Mr. Fountain goes into great depth about the topic and interviews people who have great knowledge on the topic. I would probably talk to more freestyle aerialists then just one, but overall, this was a fabulous article.
T. Atkins
I found “Up in the Air and Down with a Twist” to be quite an interesting idea for an article. It was important that the review included how important the angles are for the skier’s safety. I thought the review was well written because it included how, really, a skier’s tricks is a game of angles and physics. The review made me, as the everyman, feel as though, with practice, my skiing could improve with the analysis of angles and the physics involved. It explains how the “I could never do that” moves can be transformed into a quite simple formula. That alone makes me want to put on some skis and try my hand. The review was great because it conveyed the inspiration of the article without directly saying that the article was inspirational. The review may be more interesting if it explained the personal accounts of the freestyle aerialists in greater detail. He may have also grabbed my attention as to how impressive this truly is if he included the as he says, “simple formulas” that make it all possible. I have thought that these physics formulas would be more interesting if we could personally take advantage of our knowledge of them. It’s very intriguing that these freestyle aerialists are doing just that. Movies like Ice Princess have showed physics used in ice skating, but I have to admit, I did not realize that this was actually done. I never realized that with science on their side their full potential as skiers increased extremely. I wish that the review was longer! But I guess that just means that I enjoyed it immensely.
ReplyDeleteThe article “Up in the Air, and Down, With a Twist.” Seemed like it was very interesting from this review. I liked how in the review it talks about the physics that are specifically involved in freestyle skiing. It was nice that the review also mentioned that this sport would be in the upcoming Vancouver Olympics, which makes it feel more relevant. The input from an actual freestyle aerialist was a nice touch to the review. Hearing from an experienced freestyle aerialist that the physics are actually used while skiing makes it seem more important that the physics of it are learned. I liked how the review made it seem like being a freestyle aerialist wasn’t an impossible feat, but could be accomplished with practice and knowledge of the sport.
ReplyDeleteThe review could have been better if there was more on the physics of this sport. If the review had more information on how physics make these tricks happen, I would have better understood the relation between physics and freestyle skiing. While including the accounts of the freestyle aerialist was nice, it would have been better if had not skipped over what he discusses. It would be interesting to know what goes through a skiers mind while he is doing a jump.
I learned from this that small movements cause these tricks. I was very impressed by this and also that the angle at which the skier takes off also makes a big difference. I would have though that large movements were needed to do any tricks, but apparently that is not the case. I never realized that skiers think about the physics of their trick while they are doing it, because it would be difficult for me to think about physics while I’m in the air. I enjoyed this review and the facts that I learned from it.
The article Up in the Air, and Down, with a Twist seems very intersesting to me because it brought up different factors about a sport like skiing that I myself would not of thought of. The review brought up several things that I liked about it. First off i love the fact that sport of jumping in skiing includes quite a lot of physcis in it. The fact that each jump stands behind a law of physics is very interesting. What i like about the review is that it shows you how you can accomplish any kind of ski jump and you know the right physics to pull it off. What intersests me is that something taken out of the Olypics shows a more scientific side two it which is interesting in two ways. Something I would suggest to make this article a little better would if he had talked about maybe one example of a fall or a succesfull jump to prove how the use of science and physics was used to do the jump. Another thing I would suggest this reader do would be to include some formulas of science that can show us how simple doing a jump can actualy be. Overall a little more detail in the subject itself would've be more helpful for actually grasping the concept of physics being a major factor in a sport like skiing. From reading this review I actually learned quite a deal from it. I think that during my February break when I go skiing I will definetely consider all these new factors about skiing I have learned. I have learned that momentum, force, and rotation all all important parts of how to ski correctly.
ReplyDeleteThe article "Up in the Air, and Down, with a Twist" shows a very interesting aspect on how the flips and spins of freestyle aerialists are preformed. What was so interesting and fascinating to me was how this article explained how these tricks preformed, which was through simple physic formulas. It makes it hard to believe that someone like me could do the same flips by just keeping the same rotational momentum as the freestyle aerialists do.
ReplyDeleteThe review was great with informing people about this sport and by giving a general look on how the sport relies physics. Although the review could have included more on how and why physics can cause a perfect trick or a complete crash. Also, it should have said how hard it would be and how long it would take to learn about keeping ones rotational momentum just about perfect so as to allow that person to succeed in doing tricks.
This article has taught me a lot on how physics plays a main part in doing skiing tricks. I will keep the thought of using physics to help me do tricks or just do normal skiing the next time I ski. This review and the article both greatly give the fact of how physics applies to doing skiing tricks correctly.
Trevor did a great job reviewing this article. Specifically, he explained the ideas and concepts of physics and how they relate to skiing in full. Also, he kept the terms simple and easily to understand, because I know first hand just how complex and confusing they can be. Moreover, Trevor presented the review in such a way that the topic at hand was particularly interesting.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this article was great, it might be improved up if Trevor went into a little bit more depth about the actual jumps done by these skiers or described why the crashes aren’t as bad as they look because I know that I always get nervous while watching these events.
Before reading this article I really had no idea how much physics was present in skiing. It is interesting to consider where else physics is present in every day lifer.
The review on this article "Up in the Air, and Down, with a Twist," shows what it takes to be a freestyle aerialist, and how challenging that must be. This review gives a detailed description of how these great tricks are preformed, giving you clear insight into what a skiier goes through when tackling huge tricks, such as flips. Also this review shows you how much skiing relies on physics. This is interesting to me because we studied physics prior to entering chemistry, so it was easier for us to understand this review. Though skiing is a dangerous sport this review tells the readers how to make sure that the aerialist is as safe as possible. It shows techniques to keep these high class atheletes injurie free, so they can keep competing and doing there best.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the talk of physics in this review was a little difficult to follow. Though we did take physics that does not mean i understand everything that was said about the jumping. Also i believe that we should have heard a little more about the safety pracautions taken to make sure that the skiiers are safe.
I was impressed because in this review Trevor expressed his love for skiing, and how this article relates to him. I though it was very cool that Trevor wrote a review about something he loved and enjoyed rather then something random.
The article review for “Up in the Air, Down with a Twist” was very interesting and helped me understand some question I had in my head while watching the Olympics this vacation. Now, I know that physics plays an important role for freestyle aerial skiing on how it allows for the tricks to be performed and allow the skier to land safely. The review showed well on how physics is related to this topic, and that rotation inertia, momentum, and the force are all needed to land safely. Also, the review states well that if the physics is calculated correctly; the skier does not have to get hurt, even when they crash. Also, the review stated well that if the skier following through with the physics correctly; the tricks and lands that he performs can be done more easily and more safely.
ReplyDeleteI wish this review could have shown some of the formulae used to calculate the angles of which the skier is to take off. It would have been interesting for me to figure out the angle that will give a freestyle skier the best jump. Also, I wished that the review went into more detail on how this compares to regular skiing, not just freestyle. Since I have never skied before, I am not sure if all of this applies to regular skiing, but I am glad to know that physics helps make the sport safer for the skier.
This review grabbed my attention very well, and showed me how important science can be for the safety of people and improvement of a sport. Also, it helps me see that the sports done by professional athletes are not all about training, but it is also about knowing the science behind the sport as well. This review was very well written and now I am more interested on how science affects sports, hobbies, and the daily lives of people everywhere.