The Slick Science of Making Olympic Snow and Ice | Science | Smithsonian

Crafting the ideal ice rink or bobsled course takes patience, precision and the skill of an Ice Master

"There’s a lot more to making ice than meets the eye. On a molecular level, the snow and ice of Olympic courses is exactly the same stuff that makes snowmen, blocks off your doorway and sends unsuspecting bystanders careening down driveways. All frozen water consists of molecules arranged in a hexagonal structure similar to a honeycomb. But the ice coating the sinuous sliding tracks for bobsled, luge and skeleton, or the firm, flattened snow of a ski course are precisely shaped and conditioned over the months leading up to the games, optimizing the properties of these frosty forms of water...

Crafting the ideal ice rink or bobsled course takes patience, precision and the skill of an Ice Master

"There’s a lot more to making ice than meets the eye. On a molecular level, the snow and ice of Olympic courses is exactly the same stuff that makes snowmen, blocks off your doorway and sends unsuspecting bystanders careening down driveways. All frozen water consists of molecules arranged in a hexagonal structure similar to a honeycomb. But the ice coating the sinuous sliding tracks for bobsled, luge and skeleton, or the firm, flattened snow of a ski course are precisely shaped and conditioned over the months leading up to the games, optimizing the properties of these frosty forms of water...