Stone skipping

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Stone skipping is a pastime which involves throwing a stone with a flattened surface across a lake or other body of water in such a way that it bounces off the surface of the water. The object of the game is to see how many times a stone can be made to bounce before sinking. In North America it is also referred to as "skipping rocks"[citation needed].

stone skipping
stone skipping

The pastime is also called stone skimming, stone skiting, and ducks and drakes in the UK; and stone skiffing in Ireland according to Jerdone "Jerry" Coleman-McGhee, in his book, The Secrets of Stone Skipping.[1] The North American Stone Skipping Association (NASSA), founded by Coleman-McGhee, in 1989 and based in Driftwood, Texas, sanctioned world championships for four years from 1989 through 1992[citation needed] in Wimberley, Texas; the next official NASSA World Championships is expected to be held at Playa del Ros beach in Spain[citation needed].

The world record according to the Guinness Book of Records is 51 skips, set by Russell Byars on July 19, 2007.[2] The previous record was 40 skips, set by Kurt Steiner at the Pennsylvania Qualifying Stone Skipping Tournament on September 14, 2002.[3]

Research undertaken by a team led by French physicist, Lydéric Bocquet, has discovered that an angle of about 20° between the stone and the water's surface is optimal.[4] Bocquet and his colleagues were surprised to discover that changes in speed and rotation did not change this fact.[5]

Earlier research reported by Bocquet calculated that the world record of 38 rebounds set by Coleman-McGhee, unchallenged for many years, required a speed of 12 m/s (25 mph), with a rotation of 14 revolutions per second.[citation needed]

A stone skipping championship of a different nature takes place every year in Easdale, Scotland, that competes for distance as opposed to number of skips[6]. In 2007, 231 competitors took part in the World Stone Skimming Championships in a disused quarry on Easdale Island,[7] using stones made from Easdale slate. The 2007 winner was Dougie Isaacs from Scotland.

Contents

[edit] Further reading

  • Spinning Flight: Dynamics of Frisbees, Boomerangs, Samaras and Skipping Stones, Ralph Lorenz, Copernicus New York, September 2006 ISBN 0-387-30779-6

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Secrets of Stone Skipping, Coleman-McGhee, 1996, ISBN 1883856019
  2. ^ A stone's throw and then some to a Guinness record
  3. ^ Kurt Steiner, Guinness World Record Stone Skipper
  4. ^ Stone Skipping Gets Scientific
  5. ^ Stone Skipping Gets Scientific
  6. ^ Scots dominate in stone skimming. BBC News, 25 September 2005
  7. ^ World Stone Skimming Championships 2007

[edit] External links