Overseas network review: "The fastest ice" shows off the "science and technology style" of the Beijing Winter Olympics

China's Gao Tingyu (right) competes in the men's 500m final of speed skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on Feb. 12. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Jianwei

From the beginning of the speed skating event at the Beijing Winter Olympics to February 13, the National Speed Skating Hall "Ice Ribbon" held a total of eight finals, of which 7 events broke the Olympic record. From the Dutch player Shaoten to the Chinese player Gao Tingyu, behind the new records, in addition to the hard power of the Olympians, it is also inseparable from the help of the "fastest ice".

The fast and slippery ice surface is an important stage for the Winter Olympic Games. In the speed skating field, the more Xiaoice the temperature difference, the more uniform the hardness of the surface, the smoother the ice surface, and the more favorable it is for the athletes to achieve good results. To this end, in venues such as the National Speed Skating Hall "Ice Ribbon", the Beijing Winter Olympics for the first time adopted a clean and low-carbon carbon dioxide transcritical direct cold ice making technology. Compared with the traditional ice-making technology, this technology not only improves the energy efficiency by more than 20%, the ice surface temperature difference can be controlled within 0.5 ° C, and the ice made is more uniform, but also the world's most environmentally friendly ice-making technology, and the carbon emissions tend to zero.

This "fastest ice" not only provides a new technical route for more ice rinks in the future, but also provides a venue-level demonstration for responding to future environmental changes worldwide. Sweden's Van der Poul, who won the men's 5,000m speed skating and set a new Olympic record, praised the "ice ribbon" after the race, "This is probably the best stadium I have ever skated in my life". Through the wonderful competition of the Winter Olympic athletes, the world felt the excitement of the event and also saw the strength of China's scientific and technological innovation.

In addition to the "fastest ice", the scientific and technological elements of the Beijing Winter Olympics are everywhere. From the super cool light and shadow special effects at the opening ceremony, to the cooking robot in the canteen of the Winter Olympic Village; from the busy hydrogen fuel cell bus to the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway connecting the three major competition areas of Beijing and Zhangjiakou; from the camera system known as the "second referee" to the 5G technology to help the broadcast of the event; the Beijing Winter Olympics fully guarantee that ice and snow athletes around the world can enjoy this "faster, higher, stronger - more united" ice and snow sports event, and let the world feel the charm of science and technology.

Reuters wrote in the article "China Showcases Low-Carbon Technologies for the 'Green' Olympics" that China is working to host the "Green" Olympics, from natural carbon dioxide cooling in skating rinks to venues that use 100% renewable energy. Brazil's Time magazine article detailed the robots that reduced human contact at the Beijing Winter Olympics, smart mattresses, 5G coverage in the Olympic Village and the use of electronic money, saying that the Beijing Winter Olympics introduced revolutionary innovations in the sports industry. A Feb. 8 article on Spain's World Order website praised the Asian giant for going to show off its progress, from driverless cars to the digital yuan.

As a science and technology-enabled ice and snow event, the "science and technology model" displayed everywhere at the Beijing Winter Olympics has benefited from China's decades of innovative development and demonstrated China's unremitting pursuit of innovation and development. The world will also feel the possibility of technology leading the future from a simple, safe and wonderful Olympic event, and condense the power of "going to the future together". (Meng Qingchuan)