Olympics

The High-Speed Physics of Bobsled, Luge, and Skeleton

John Eric Goff

All the athletes start at the same height and go down the same track. 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. 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.

Why Lance Armstrong Will Remain a Champion to Those Who ‘Live Strong’

Sandip Roy

Lance Armstrong has thrown in the towel with all the abhimaan (self-absolution) of a martyr. He has announced that he will not fight the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) on doping charges, not because he is admitting guilt, but because “enough is enough" and he is just the victim of an “unconstitutional witch-hunt." Armstrong might lose his seven titles, but he seems confident that he is in little danger of losing anything else. In his book he is still No. 1, and he is still Lance Armstrong, the great white hope of cancer survivors everywhere. 

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