Downward-facing skeleton riders do the same. The shortest way downTo minimize drag from the air, luge riders – who are face up – lie as flat as possible. The more aerodynamic an athlete or team is, the greater the speed. 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. WATCH: What to expect from the Beijing Olympics So the difference between gold and a disappointing result comes not from gravity and potential energy, but from a fast start, being as aerodynamic as possible and taking the shortest path down the track. Even tiny mistakes made by the best athletes in the world can cost a medal.Īll the athletes start at the same height and go down the same track. The difference between the gold medal and silver medal in the men’s singles luge at the 2018 Winter Olympics was just 0.026 seconds. Final times are calculated by adding four runs together. Most tracks are around a mile long (1.6 km), and the athletes cover that distance in just under a minute. Though bobsled, luge and skeleton may look easy, in reality they are anything but. When athletes enter a turn at 80 mph (129 kph) they experience accelerations that can reach five times that of normal gravitational acceleration. Racers are dealing with a lot of kinetic energy and strong forces. Both gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy increase as weight increases, meaning there is more energy in a four-person bobsled team than there is in a one-person luge or skeleton for a given speed. The reason a flying baseball will shatter the glass if it hits a window is that the ball transfers its kinetic energy to the glass. The potential energy is converted to another form of energy once the object starts falling. Gravitational potential energy represents stored energy and increases as an object is raised farther from Earth’s surface. Riders in the sledding events reach their fast speeds because of the conversion of gravitational potential energy into kinetic energy. 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% 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.

Bobsled vs skeleton