Editor's note: On February 4, the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing will be unveiled, and Chinese Olympic athletes are currently stepping up their preparations for the excitement of the flame.
In Shanghai, which lacks ice and snow, the general public's understanding of the olympic sports of the Winter Olympic Games is certainly not as "handy" as that of the Summer Olympic Games. Jiefang Daily Shangguan News "Sports +" specially launched the "Beijing Winter Olympics Primer" science popularization column, taking everyone closer to the 7 major events, 15 sub-events and 109 sub-events of the Winter Olympic Games, and know the doorway of ice and snow sports.
The Olympic Games are a stage for athletes to perform, as well as a place for the use of sports technology. Behind the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, there are many new technologies worth paying attention to. Many "high-tech domestic products" such as new technologies and new equipment independently developed by the mainland will be unveiled on the stage of the Winter Olympics.
Artificial Ice Snow: Updated + More Stable
Ice and snow are the hallmarks and highlights of the Winter Olympics. Due to climatic reasons and the special requirements of competitive competitions, artificial snowmaking is the main source of snow used for the Winter Olympic Games. On the one hand, the naturally formed snow has a high degree of solidification, low friction, and easy to increase the speed, but for fast-moving athletes, it is very easy to fall and roll over; artificial snowmaking can cope with the needs of different fields by changing the particle size, hardness and moisture content of snow. On the other hand, artificial snowmaking is fast and controllable. Generally speaking, when the temperature is below 0 degrees Celsius, the snow machine can start working.
Known as the "Jewel in the Crown", alpine skiing is one of the fastest in snow and ice. This "Fast and Furious" project requires artificial "ice-like snow". "Ice-like snow" is similar to shaved ice, with greater density, more snow layers, higher hardness, good support, and a thin ice shell on its surface. Unlike the snow surface where we can usually hear the "creaking" sound when we step on it, the "ice-like snow" retains a certain elasticity, which greatly improves the comfort of athletes skiing.
Therefore, "ice-like snow" has the reputation of alpine skiing "plastic track". For athletes involved in alpine skiing, skiing on the "ice snow" track makes it easier to control the posture of the body and it is easier to achieve results. For the event organizers, the track paved with "ice-like snow" can ensure that the surface of the slope is still smooth and smooth after the athletes have repeatedly slid down at high speed, and it is not easy to deform. Regardless of the order in which the athletes appear, the track is brand new, ensuring a fair race.
The Antarctic team of the Nanjing Institute of Astronomy and Optics Technology of the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, and the Organizing Committee of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics have cooperated to develop an ice and snow particle size detector that measures the size of ice and snow particle size and a snow hardness tester that measures the hardness of ice and snow in view of the characteristics of the "ice-like snow" track. The small instrument exerts the characteristics of stable performance and high reliability in the work, and the subjective judgment of the past human foot stepping on the perception of the track state has become an objective judgment with scientific methods and simple instruments, surpassing similar foreign related instruments.
New race costume: Safety + Drag Reduction
The costume is the business card to show the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, which not only has a visual communication effect, but also more in line with the needs of the competition. At present, 10 units led by Beijing Institute of Fashion in China have researched and developed competition clothing for different ice and snow events that are suitable for the physical and physiological characteristics of Chinese athletes in view of the climatic and environmental conditions of the Winter Olympic Games.
In addition to safety, effective resistance reduction is also a feature. Tight clothing reduces pneumatic resistance by wrapping the skin and loading materials and structures that help reduce drag. At present, the total resistance of the anti-drag fabric independently developed by the mainland is reduced by 4% compared with the international advanced clothing in the competition clothing. In the winter event, keeping warm is very critical, and the Beijing Institute of Fashion has produced a comprehensive warm clothing to effectively meet the needs of warmth.
Domestic new snowmobile: lighter + faster
The snowmobile race is fast, difficult and very watchable. In 2016, China established a national snowmobile team, and snowmobile equipment depends on imports. At present, most of the world's snowmobiles are manufactured by 3 companies in Germany, and the price of bicycles is more than 50,000 US dollars.
In March 2021, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and China FAW undertook the task of developing domestic snowmobiles. In fact, although the snowmobile is called a "car", it does not have wheels and steering wheels, and its power depends on the initial speed and gravity of the athlete's cart. At that time, the performance requirements and relevant standards of the development unit for the snowmobile were not clear. In snowmobile racing, the pressure that skates around the corner is 5-6 times that of their own gravity, which is close to the limit of the human body.
The requirements for snowmobile safety and reliability are extremely high. Eventually, the research team used a new carbon fiber composite material as the shell of the snowmobile. The strength of the material meets the requirements, but the weight is only about 10% of the steel material. In September 2021, the first domestic snowmobile was launched, ending the long history of snowmobile equipment being monopolized by foreign brands. After testing, the wind resistance coefficient of domestic snowmobiles is reduced by 5% compared with imported similar snowmobiles, and the speed is increased by 3%.
The Olympic Games are not only an "arena" for athletes, but also a "test field" for cutting-edge technology. Through scientific and technological innovation, achieving new breakthroughs in key technologies and forming a large number of scientific and technological achievements is undoubtedly another "legacy" of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
(The author Is a 2018 undergraduate student at the School of Media and Arts of Shanghai University of Sport, and Associate Professor Chen Guoqiang of Shanghai University of Sport also contributed to this article)
Column Editor-in-Chief: Chen Hua Text Editor: Chen Hua Title Image Source: Xinhua News Agency
文内插图：新华社 Source: Author: Li Chenran