Writer's choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 17

Writer's choice - Essay Example The short cuff gloves exposed the wrist to potential injury prompting players to start attaching specially molded plastic to the front part of their elbow pads to protect the lower part of their forearm (National Hockey League 9). Ideally, the evolution depicts the significance of plastic material in making hockey skates where plastic pads and fiberglass replaced leather shoulder and elbow pads to enhance protection. With a specific focus on the impact of plastics material on hockey sticks, pucks, skates, and safety, we can derive how plastics revolutionized ice hockey. Indeed, plastic has revolutionized traditional hockey sticks that were initially wooden via nanotechnologies that enhance the durability and speed of handling hockey sticks (Canadian Plastics Industry Association 1). Moreover, manufacturers use plastic material to make hockey pucks through modern technologies like vulcanization. Most specifically, plastic materials advanced hockey skates that initially had leather with metal blades (Canadian Plastics Industry Association 1). Unlike old skates, the modern skates have a protective plastic cowling made of a major polymer, high-end polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (Canadian Plastics Industry Association 1 ). Indeed, the PVC is dominant in covering the lower half of the hockey boot (Canadian Plastics Industry Association 1). Modern manufacturers of hockey skates rely on PVC polymer subject to its good insulation properties. Indeed, PVC can only start decomposing when the temperature exceeds 140 Â °C since it has a melting point of about 160 Â °C. Moreover, the polymer has a small linear expansion coefficient and good flame retardancy that enhances the sliding action of the skate blade and skating speed. This relates to its high hardness and good mechanical properties. Indeed, with a thermal coefficient of expansion of 80 x 10-6 and density of 1.38 g/cm3, PVC promotes the production of hockey skates that generate less