In just a few days, athletes from around the world will compete in the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. The Olympics games are a spectacle of speed and grace. Curlers deftly nudge stones into place. Figure skaters whip themselves into fancy twirls on the balance of a blade. Snowboarders ride rails and launch off of ramps into daring flips and twists. Every Olympian has trained for years to show off their skills on the world stage.
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In contests between such elite athletes, tiny details can make the difference between silver and gold. The chemistry of ski wax, for instance, affects how well skis glide across or grip snow. The recipe can make or break a skier’s performance. In bobsledding, meanwhile, shoe stiffness is key. Just the right amount of bends can give athletes the boost of speed they need to take first place.
But there’s one key piece of Winter Olympic equipment no one can totally control: cold weather. Without it, athletes like skiers and snowboarders can’t compete. Unfortunately, many cities may soon be too warm to host the Winter Olympics. The reason: human-caused climate change. If it doesn’t get cold enough, snow can’t fall. In fact, this is the first Winter Olympics ever that will completely depend on artificial, rather than natural, snow. That could become the norm in the future.
Some technology does exist to coax clouds into making more snow. This weather-control technology helped create clear skies at the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008. But tampering with the weather may have unintended consequences. And it still won’t produce enough snow to keep the slopes covered. Blend sport and art with these Winter Olympic crafts. Create a toy figure skater that glides around a metal canister through the power of magnetism. Use ice cubes to play a game of curling in the bathtub. Or, race marble down a paper plate track.
Power Words
chemistry: The field of science that deals with the composition, structure and properties of substances and how they interact. Scientists use this knowledge to study unfamiliar substances, to reproduce large quantities to design and create new and useful substances. (about compounds) Chemistry also is used as a term to refer to the recipe of a compound, the way it’s produced or some of its properties. People who work in this field are known as chemists. (in social science) A term for the ability of people to cooperate, get along and enjoy each other’s company.
climate: The weather conditions that typically exist in one area, in general, or over a long period.
Climate change: Long-term, significant change in the climate of Earth. It can happen naturally or in response to human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests.
cloud: A plume of molecules or particles, such as water droplets, that move under the action of an outside force, such as wind, radiation or water currents. (in atmospheric science) A mass of airborne water droplets and ice crystals that travel as a plume, usually high in Earth’s atmosphere. Its movement is driven by winds.
technology: The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry — or the devices, processes and systems that result from those efforts.
weather: Conditions in the atmosphere at a localized place and a particular time. It is usually described in terms of particular features, such as air pressure, humidity, moisture, any precipitation (rain, snow or ice), temperature and wind speed. Weather constitutes the actual conditions that occur at any time and place. It’s different from climate, which is a description of the conditions that tend to occur in some general region during a particular month or season.
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