Skiing and snowboarding events rely on the peculiar physics of sliding on snow. According to classical lubrication theory, that sliding shouldn’t be nearly as low in friction as what we Keep reading
Tag: olympics
Beijing 2022: Ice’s Slideability
As scientists continue to unravel the peculiarities of ice, they’ve found that ice’s friction depends both on the object sliding on it and the ice’s hardness. At extremely low temperatures, Keep reading
Beijing 2022: Monobob
Bobsleigh, as a discipline, has been dominated in recent years by teams seeking every aerodynamic advantage to shave hundredths of a second off their runs. So it’s fascinating that the Keep reading
Beijing 2022: Ski Jumping
In ski jumping, aerodynamics are paramount. Each jump consists of four segments: the in-run, take-off, flight, and landing. Of these, aerodynamics dominates in the in-run — where jumpers streamline themselves Keep reading
Beijing 2022: Why Are Ice and Snow Slippery?
Although every Olympic winter sport relies on the slippery nature of snow and ice, exactly why those substances are so slippery has been an enduring mystery. Michael Faraday hypothesized in the nineteenth century that Keep reading
Tokyo 2020: Baseball Aerodynamics
For a long time, people thought baseball aerodynamics were simply a competition between gravity and the Magnus effect caused when a ball is spinning. But the seams of a baseball Keep reading
Tokyo 2020: High-Dive Physics
In Olympic high-diving, athletes leap from a maximum of 10 meters above the water. Although the force of their water impact is substantial, it’s small enough that they can enter Keep reading
Tokyo 2020: Sailing Faster Than The Wind
It’s a bit mindboggling, but by exploiting physics and geometry, a sailboat can reach speeds faster than the wind propelling it. Steve Mould demonstrates how in this video using some Keep reading
Tokyo 2020: Visualizing the Magnus Effect in Golf
Golf returned to the Olympics in 2016 in Rio and is back for the Tokyo edition. Golf balls — with their turbulence-promoting dimples — are a perennial favorite for aerodynamics Keep reading
Tokyo 2020: Optimizing Oar Length
The sleek hulls of racing boats are designed to minimize drag, but there’s optimization to the oars as well. Mathematical models – and the history of rowing – indicate that Keep reading