There is more to the bobsled, luge and skeleton events than merely sliding down steep, icy slopes. It is how the athletes react to the physics that ultimately determines the fastest runs from the rest of the pack. WinterOlympics Beijing2022
The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research.
Gravity and energy Gravity is what powers the sleds down the ice-covered tracks in bobsled, luge and skeleton events. 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 . Racers are dealing with a lot of kinetic energy and strong forces. When athletes enter a turn at 80 mph they experience accelerations that can reach five times that of normal gravitational acceleration. Though bobsled, luge and skeleton may look easy, in reality they are anything but.
While gravity pulls the athletes and their sleds downhill, they are constantly colliding with air particles that create a force called air drag, which pushes back on the athletes and sleds in a direction opposite to their velocity. The more aerodynamic an athlete or team is, the greater the speed.
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