Ice rink

Key takeaways

Ice rink belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ice rink to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ice rink from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of skating during the 1800s marked a rise in the deliberate construction of rinks in numerous areas of the world. The word "rink" is a word of Scottish origin meaning "course", used to describe the ice surface used in the sport of curling, but was kept in use once the winter team sport of ice hockey became established. There are two types of rinks in prevalent use today: natural ice rinks, where freezing occurs from cold ambient temperatures, and artificial ice rinks (or mechanically frozen), where a coolant produces cold temperatures underneath the water body (on which the game is played), causing the water body to freeze and then stay frozen. There are also synthetic ice rinks where skating surfaces are made out of plastics. Besides recreational skating, some of its uses include: hockey, sledge hockey (a.k.a. "Para ice hockey", or "sled hockey"), spongee (a.k.a. sponge hockey), bandy, rink bandy, rinkball, ringette, broomball (both indoor and outdoor versions), Moscow broomball, speed skating, figure skating, ice stock sport, curling, and crokicurl. However, Moscow broomball is typically played on a tarmac tennis court that has been flooded with water and allowed to freeze. The sports of broomball, curling, ice stock sport, spongee, Moscow broomball, and the game of crokicurl, do not use skates of any kind. While technically not an rink, ice tracks and trails, such as those used in the sport of speed skating and recreational or pleasure skating are sometimes referred to as "ice rinks".

Etymology Rink, a Scottish word meaning 'course', was used as the name of a place where curling was played. As curling is played on ice, the name has been retained for the construction of ice areas for other sports and uses.

History

Great Britain

London, England

Early attempts in the construction of artificial ice rinks were first made in the 'rink mania' of 1841–44. The technology for the maintenance of natural ice did not exist, therefore these early rinks used a substitute consisting of a mixture of hog's lard and various salts. An item in the May 8, 1844 issue of Eliakim Littell's Living Age headed "The Glaciarium" reported that, "This establishment, which has been removed to Grafton street East' Tottenham Court Road, was opened on Monday afternoon. The area of artificial ice is extremely convenient for such as may be desirous of engaging in the graceful and manly pastime of skating". By 1844, these venues fell out of fashion as customers grew tired of the 'smelly' ice substitute. It wasn't until 30 years later that refrigeration technology developed to the point where natural ice could finally be feasibly used in the rink. The world's first mechanically frozen ice rink was the Glaciarium, opened by John Gamgee, a British veterinarian and inventor, in a tent in a small building just off the Kings Road in Chelsea, London, on 7 January 1876. Gamgee had become fascinated by the refrigeration technology he encountered during a study trip to America to look at Texas fever in cattle. In March of that same year it moved to a permanent venue at 379 Kings Road, where a rink measuring 12.2 by 7.3 metres (40 by 24 ft) was established. The rink was based on a concrete surface, with layers of earth, cow hair and timber planks. Atop these were laid oval copper pipes carrying a solution of glycerine with ether, nitrogen peroxide and water. The pipes were covered by water and the solution was pumped through, freezing the water into ice. Gamgee discovered the process while attempting to develop a method to freeze meat for import from Australia and New Zealand, and patented it as early as 1870.

Gamgee operated the rink on a membership-only basis and attempted to attract a wealthy clientele, experienced in open-air skating during winters in the Alps. He installed an orchestra gallery, which could also be used by spectators, and decorated the walls with views of the Swiss Alps. The rink initially proved a success, and Gamgee opened two further rinks later in the year: at Rusholme in Manchester and the "Floating Glaciarium" at Charing Cross in London, this last significantly larger at 35.1 by 7.6 metres (115 by 25 ft). The Southport Glaciarium opened in 1879, using Gamgee's method.

The Fens, England In the marshlands of The Fens, skating was developed early as a pastime during winter where there were plenty of natural ice surfaces. This is the origin of the Fen skating and is said to be the birthplace of bandy. The Great Britain Bandy Association has its home in the area.

Hungary In Austria-Hungary, the first artificial ice skating rink opened in 1870 in The City Park of Budapest, which is still in operation to this day and is considered one of the largest in Europe.

Germany

In Germany, the first skating rink opened in 1882 in Frankfurt during a patent exhibition. It covered 520 m2 (5,600 ft2) and operated for two months; the refrigeration system was designed by Jahre Linde, and was probably the first skating rink where ammonia was used as a refrigerant. Ten years later, a larger rink was permanently installed on the same site.

United States

Early indoor rinks

Skating quickly became a favorite pastime and craze in several American cities around the mid 1800s spawning a construction period of several rinks. Two early indoor rinks made of mechanically frozen ice in the United States opened in 1894, the North Avenue Ice Palace in Baltimore, Maryland, and the Ice Palace in New York City. The St. Nicholas Rink, (a.k.a. "St. Nicholas Arena"), was an indoor rink in New York City which existed from 1896 until its demolition in the 1980s. It was one of the earliest American indoor rinks made of mechanically frozen ice in North America and gave skaters the opportunity to enjoy an extended skating season. The rink was used for pleasure skating, ice hockey, and ice skating, and was an important rink involved in the development of the sports of hockey and boxing in the United States.

Oldest indoor artificial ice rink in use

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ice rink

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ice rink claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ice rink before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ice rink ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ice rink

In research: Ice rink appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ice rink in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ice rink is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bandy, Broomball, Figure skating, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ice rink outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Ice rink in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ice rink means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ice rink out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ice rink in simple terms?

An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows.

Why does Ice rink matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ice rink?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ice rink.