physics of high speed sledding
Lynchburg, VIRGINIA — Speed alone may be the factor that draws many sports fans to the bobsled, luge and skeleton events at this year’s Beijing Winter Olympics. But beneath the thrilling descents of the winding, ice-covered track, a myriad of concepts from physics are at play. It is how the...

![Skeleton racers don’t have a means of directly controlling the runners, so they must use subtle body movements to flex the sled and initiate turns. [image via Wikimedia Commons] Skeleton racer mounting sled](https://samoanews.com/sites/default/files/styles/teaser/public/field/image/skeleton_sledding_image.jpg?itok=OTygI3O2)