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Learn the Science Behind Athletes' Movements
Learn the Science Behind Athletes' Movements.
- How does
angular momentum help figure skater Rachael Flatt achieve the perfect triple
toe loop?
- How does elastic collision allow three-time Olympic hockey player
Julie Chu convert a game-winning slapshot?
- How do Newton's Three Laws of Motion
propel short-track speed skater J. R. Celski to the finish line?
These are just a few of the scientific principles explored in a special 16-part video series entitled "The Science of the Olympic Winter Games," presented by NBC Learn, NBC Olympics and the National Science Foundation. In each piece in the series, an NSF-supported scientist explains the selected scientific principle, while Olympic athletes describe how these principles apply to their respective sports. The science is broken down by capturing the athletes' movements with a state-of-the-art, high-speed camera called the Phantom Cam, which can capture movement at rates of up to 1,500 frames per second. This allows frame-by-frame illustrations of Newton's Three Laws of Motion, the Law of Conservation of Angular Momentum, friction, drag, speed, velocity and other scientific concepts.
