We couldn't have the Beijing Olympics without snow machines. How do they work, and what's the environmental cost?
- Written by: Chiara Neto, Professor of Physical Chemistry and Australian Research Council Future Fellow, University of Sydney
Dan Himbrechts/AAPSnow machines have exploited the laws of thermodynamics to paint the slopes of Beijing white for this year’s Winter Olympics.
Beijing might seem like an odd place for the winter games. The city receives almost no annual snowfall and has an average temperature just below 0℃, even in the winter month of February.
Chinese...