science

Kicksled

Kicksled is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kicksled rather than just read about it. In short: The kicksled or spark is a small sled consisting of a chair mounted on a pair of flexible metal runners that extend backward to about twice the chair's length. The sled is propelled by kicking (sparka or sparke in the Scandinavian languages) the ground by foot.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

The kicksled or spark is a small sled consisting of a chair mounted on a pair of flexible metal runners that extend backward to about twice the chair's length. The sled is propelled by kicking (sparka or sparke in the Scandinavian languages) the ground by foot. There is a handlebar attached to the top of the chair back.

Design The typical adult sized sled has runners about 2 m (79 in) long, spaced 400 mm (15.7 in) apart. The steel runner blades are about 5 mm (0.2 in) wide.The handlebars are about 900 mm (35.4 in) above ground. The kicksled is driven forward by the driver standing on one runner, kicking backwards on the ground with the other foot, hence the name. The flexibility of the runners allows the driver to steer the kicksled by twisting the handlebars. One can have a passenger or luggage on the chair seat. The kicksled can also be used as a dog sled. A kicksled is designed to be used on hard, slippery surfaces like ice or hardpacked snow. To kicksled in deeper, more powdery snow, extra-wide plastic snow runners are attached to the standard, thin runners of the sled. On very smooth, bare ice, the use of traction devices like spiked shoes or crampons improves kicking force. On level ground, one can easily reach a speed of 15 km/h (9 mph) to 20 km/h (12 mph), and much faster on downhill section or with a strong tail wind. The kicksled is in common use in Sweden, Norway and Finland, especially where roads are not sanded or salted. Kicksleds are growing in popularity in Canada. Kicksleds in Canada are used as mini mushing sleds with dogs as well as the traditional method of winter transportation. Stereotypically it is used by old women in the countryside. It is also an excellent means of travelling over frozen lakes to go ice fishing or just to explore the lake. Kicksledding on lake ice shares many of the same features as tour skating. Some models also include a wheel kit allowing the user to transform the sled into a kind of walking aid for summer use. This type is especially popular amongst the elderly.

Names Kicksled is a direct translation of the Finnish word potkukelkka. Estonian calls it either a 'pushsled' (tõukekelk) or 'Finnish sled' (Soome kelk). In Russian, it is known as the 'Finnish sled' (финские сани). Some other possible translations are kicker and chair-sled.

History The first definite record of a kicksled was in a newspaper in northern Sweden around 1870. The kicksleds of that era had stiff wooden runners and were heavy. In 1909 the design of the modern kicksled with flexible metal runners was introduced by the Swedish factory Orsasparken, which quickly became standard in Sweden, Finland and Norway. A significant change took place in the development of the kicksled, when electrical engineer Oskari Terhi from Salo Finland developed iron legs for it in 1900. In 1893 the French language Popular science magazine, La Nature, described the kicksled in the article "Un Traineau Suédois: Le Sparkstötting". In 1894 this article was translated into English and published as "A Swedish Sled :The Sparkstotting", in the magazine Scientific American".

Racing

In the years 1890 to 1910 kicksled racing was a popular sport, especially in Sweden. Kicksled racing was a major event in the Nordic Games, which were the ancestor of the Winter Olympics. Around 1990 kicksled racing was revived as a serious sport in Finland. There are races of up to 100 kilometres (62 mi) long and the average speed is around 30 km/h (19 mph). Often the kicksled races are held in conjunction with marathon speed skating races on natural ice; the kicksleds use the same ice track as the skaters. A light-weight racing kicksled model is mass-produced by the Finnish kicksled company ESLA. Another racing and sport purposed aluminium-alloy based ultralight kicksled - the Kickspark is produced by Kickbike Worldwide in Finland. In Canada, the kick sled has been modified for dog sports. A bridle is attached to the kick sled, and a gangline to that, with one to three dogs pulling. This small sled is useful for the urban dog owner, as it is lighter and easier to transport than a full scale dog sled. Kick sled races are now being held, with teams racing at times comparable to skijorers. Norways's Geilo Ski Resort boasts an annual Kicksled World Championship every January, while Hurdal, Norway, puts on the Kicksled Downhill World Championship every February.

Further reading Sparkstöttingar by Göran Rosander; Stockholm; Nordiska Museet; 1995; ISBN 91-7108-385-5

References

External links

Kicksled videos Article on the Kicksled, Stowe Today Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine Kicksled Handbook from Finland (from Wayback archive 2019-07-24) Kicksled World Championships Spark or Kicksled (23 kB) Historical References in Swedish or Norwegian: Kicksled racing in 1890 Sweden Museum in Sweden with earliest known article about kicksled The kicksled page of Nansen Produkter AS "Spark meg bak". Nordøsterdalsmuseet, Museum in Tynset Norway with kicksled history. 25 November 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kicksled

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kicksled 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 Kicksled 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 Kicksled 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 Kicksled

In research: Kicksled 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 Kicksled 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: Kicksled is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Human-powered vehicles, Ice sports, Sledding, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kicksled 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.

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How to study Kicksled in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kicksled 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 Kicksled out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kicksled in simple terms?

Why does Kicksled 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 Kicksled?

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 Kicksled.