![]() The track is roughly a mile long (1.6 km), drops 397 feet of elevation (121 meters) – with the steepest section being an incredible 18 percent grade – and comprises 16 curves. This year’s races are taking place at the Yanqing National Sliding Center. The big-picture physics is simple – start at some height and then fall to a lower height, letting gravity accelerate athletes to speeds approaching 90 mph (145 kph). Gravity is what powers the sleds down the ice-covered tracks in bobsled, luge and skeleton events. Korean Culture and Information Service via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-NC-SA Gravity and energy Tracks for sliding events – like the Olympic track from the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics – drop hundreds of feet and feature many tight turns. But that thought merely scratches the surface of all the subtle physics that go into a gold-medal-winning performance. It would be easy to assume that the competitors are simply falling or sliding down a track at the whim of gravity. Much of the excitement of a luge run is easy to miss – the athletes’ movements are often too small to notice as they fly by looking like nothing more than a blur on your television. It is how the athletes react to the physics that ultimately determines the fastest runs from the rest of the pack. But beneath the thrilling descents of the winding, ice-covered track, a myriad of concepts from physics are at play. Speed alone may be the factor that draws many sports fans to the bobsled, luge and skeleton events at this year’s Beijing Winter Olympics. ![]()
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