 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Liquid chalk" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The termliquid chalk, or sharkchalk, refers to several different kinds of liquifiedchalk including liquid-chalk marking pens (with water-soluble ink), liquid-chalk mixtures (for athletic use:rock climbing, weightlifting, gymnastics), and liquid-chalk hobby-craft paints made ofcornstarch andfood coloring (some with small amounts offlour). Some forms of "liquid chalk" contain no actual chalk.
Liquid chalk can be a variation of normalchalk (see:magnesium carbonate) used to improve grip for sports, such asrock climbing,weight lifting, orgymnastics.
Rock climbers use liquid chalk to prevent their hands from sweating. It may be used by climbers in situations where powdered chalk is restricted. It is preferred by some athletes because it remains effective longer and leaves less residue on rocks[1] and equipment.[2] Liquid chalk for rock climbers is made frommagnesium carbonate.
In other sports, liquid chalk is less beneficial to the athlete, because re-chalking can be done more easily between sets or rounds. However, some gyms require liquid chalk because it leaves less residue on gym equipment. Liquid chalk adheres to the hand better, reducing the need to re-chalk.[3][4]
Some liquid-chalk mixtures for climbing are made withmagnesium carbonate,colophony, andethanol or analcohol that dissolves the colophony and quickly evaporates from the solution (asisopropyl alcohol orethanol). Sometimes, an additive foraroma is included because of the bad smell of spirit.
