Between the finals of the individual event on Saturday, February 12 (won by Norwegian Marius Lindvik) and the team event on Monday, the ski jumpers again delighted. But how do they "fly" so far?
Gravity, lift, resistance
The ski jumping competition is probably one of the most exciting events of the Winter Olympic Games. The principle is simple: the athlete who slides the farthest, making the best landing, wins. Using several techniques designed to defy the laws of nature, ski jumpers are able to defy gravity for five to seven seconds, sometimes covering over a hundred meters. How do they do it? Three basic concepts of physics are involved: gravity, lift and drag.
The force of gravity pulls any object in flight to the ground. It is inevitable. Trying to delay the deadline, the athletes interact with the air while moving. This interaction then creates lift. As it moves through the air, the surface of the object collides with air particles, pushing them down. The object is then pushed upwards according to Newton's third law of motion, which states that for every action there is an equal opposite reaction.
If the force created by lift approximately balances gravity, then the object can hover. To create lift, you have to be in motion. Several factors can increase this upward force: increasing speed, increasing surface or angle of attack.
The same collisions between an object and the air that provide lift also create drag, the purpose of which is to resist the forward motion of any object, thereby slowing it down. As the speed decreases, the lift also decreases, which limits the duration of the flight.
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Speed and technique
In order to work, skiers must first gain top speed while sliding down the slope. They minimize drag by crouching and steering gently to reduce friction between the skis and the ramp. By the time they reach the "end of the line", some can reach 96 km/h. Just before reaching the end of the ramp, which has a downward slope of about ten degrees, the athletes jump. Note that the landing slope is designed so that the skier is never more than four meters above the ground.
Once airborne, jumpers do their best to create as much lift as possible while minimizing drag. To increase their chances, athletes align their skis and body almost parallel to the ground and position the skis in a V-shape outside the body shape.
As drag reduces the skier's speed, lift is reduced. The athletes then begin to fall faster and faster before finally hitting the ground under gravity.
Given the large number of physical factors, many other factors can also affect the quality of the jump, such as wind. You will also notice that the officials sometimes move the starting point up or down the slope depending on the wind speed. This is because a faster headwind will create more lift and result in longer jumps that are likely to take the skier outside of the designated area.
The length of the skis is also adjustable. This length depends on the size and weight of the skier. Specifically, skis can be no more than 145% of a skier's height, while skiers with a body mass index below 21 must have shorter skis. Finally, skiers should wear fitted suits to ensure that the clothing does not create additional lift.
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