Is "Base Oxidation" "Freezer Burn"?
 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freezer_burn

Seems that BNS and others are saying what they used to call base
oxidation isn't that at all. Not sure if they state what they think it
is, and some have theorized that it's not even a bad thing.

Don't know why no one with access to a mass spectometer hasn't taken a
look at that grey stuff's chemical composition and compare it to a
scraping of shiny base, but in any event I wonder if base oxidation is
caused by the same action as freezer burn. See above link.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY

Is "Base Oxidation" "Freezer Burn"?
 

Gary Jacobson wrote:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freezer_burn

Seems that BNS and others are saying what they used to call base
oxidation isn't that at all. Not sure if they state what they think it
is, and some have theorized that it's not even a bad thing.

Don't know why no one with access to a mass spectometer hasn't taken a
look at that grey stuff's chemical composition and compare it to a
scraping of shiny base, but in any event I wonder if base oxidation is
caused by the same action as freezer burn. See above link.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY

Freezer burn is explosion/disruption/loss of moisture from a cell. Since
white patches can occur on warm storage skis, I don't think the freezing
part has anything to do with it.
gr

Is "Base Oxidation" "Freezer Burn"?
 

Don't know why no one with access to a mass spectometer hasn't taken a
look at that grey stuff's chemical composition and compare it to a
scraping of shiny base, but in any event I wonder if base oxidation is
caused by the same action as freezer burn. See above link.


Gary,

I hear you. Scientific research in the area of surface chemistry of
polypropylene ski bases is lacking. The myths/beliefs/facts about
pores, base oxidation, wax soaking, wax retention, microstructure etc
are all testable with a mass spec, optical/atomic_force/electron
microscopy, etc. This equipment is quite pricey for basement type
science (e.g. at least $100K for a decent atomic force microscope, but
the realistic range is more like $500K). Due to the cost, the
equipment is often shared between different labs (e.g. a department
may have a shared mass spec) which means that usage time is often
limited.

Surface chemistry in general (not just of ski bases) is a tough field
(“God created bulk but the Devil created surface” - by Fermi?)

I am wondering why wax companies never publish semi-scientific proof
of their claims (I've only seen semi-quantitative data on contact
angles on wax packs).

Is "Base Oxidation" "Freezer Burn"?
 

On Nov 30, 4:54*pm, Gary Jacobson wrote:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freezer_burn

Seems that BNS and others are saying what they used to call base
oxidation isn't that at all. Not sure if they state what they think it
is, and some have theorized that it's not even a bad thing.

Don't know why no one with access to a mass spectometer hasn't taken a
look at that grey stuff's chemical composition and compare it to a
scraping of shiny base, but in any event I wonder if base oxidation is
caused by the same action as freezer burn. See above link.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY

Nathan Schultz & Zack Caldwall's Master Skier Pre-Season 2008 article
"Stonegriding for speed" speaks to the question. They write: "People
genearlly say that a base is 'oxidized', but those white spots on a
ski are generally dry regions or abraded fibers of UHMWPE, not
oxidized." The article notes that UHMWPE is sintered ultra-high
molecular wt. polyethylene or P-tex.