Bob wrote:
"revyakin" wrote in message
om...

beginners. The brakes, currently being tested by a ski manufacturer in
the Alps, offer the necessary friction for a bigger "kick-off force"
and make the skis less likley to slide backwards in their tracks. To
make this happen, an electric current from the bottom of the ski
pulses through the ice, melting a thin layer of snow that instantly
refreezes and acts as a sort of glue"

...and after the first kick the ski will never glide again.

Why bother about electricity? Just design some "smart scales" which
are pulled inside the ski during the glide phase, and stick out during
kick. The only question is how the ski will know when kick begins.
Well, some sensor will indeed be needed there, like a laser which
senses when the glide stopped, from snow-induced scattering. Such
sensor and a relay would need much less power compared to what is
needed for melting of snow. D


Or the same sensor (low res camera) that's in an optical mouse.

Bob


I think the snow melting idea won't work. It would take too much energy
in a short period of time and the thermal heat capacity of the ski would
also work against this. Also, when the temperature is near freezing when
you need kick the most, the invisioned "melt" wouldn't refreeze. A
surface change induced by an electronic current would be more feasible.
And to make it work and still be most like real skiing it should be
initiated by weight shift - easy to do with a pressure sensor on the
binding under the foot.

Some of these posts in the past have been "jokes". However, I do know
that some version of this I had seen before. Is it the same person
(Victor Petrenko) mentioned in the article at
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scite...dge020222.html