What is the fuel that the Bird's Nest torch burns?

Propane was used as the fuel for the torch of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The torch relay of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will last 130 days, with a total distance of about137,000 kilometers. In this long "journey", the flame will be passed indirectly by each torch. So how can we ensure that the whole torch relay process will not go wrong?

First, let's look at the torch. The torch of Beijing Olympic Games is 72 cm long and weighs 985 grams. It is made of light and high-quality aluminum alloy and hollow plastic parts, and the lower part is sprayed with high-touch plastic paint, which feels light and comfortable and is not easy to slide down. The burning time of each torch is 15 minutes, which is enough for the relay process, because the number of torchbearers and the relay distance are different in each Olympic Games. There will be 208 torchbearers participating in the relay every day. Generally, each torchbearer relays 200 to 400 meters, and the whole journey does not exceed ten minutes.

/kloc-during 0/30 days, 33 days belong to overseas relay. After May 4th, the flame will return to Chinese mainland to continue its 97-day journey on the mainland. In more than four months, the flame will "visit" 3 1 kloc-0/3 cities and regions in China. Needless to say, the geographical environment is very different. It's hard to guarantee that it won't rain or wind. Will the flame of the torch be affected?

Of course not. The torch of Beijing Olympic Games has reached a new technical height in terms of combustion stability and adaptability to the external environment. It can keep burning under the strong wind of 65 kilometers per hour and the rainstorm of 50 millimeters per hour, and the temperature change from the lowest minus 6℃ to the highest 45℃ will not affect its combustion. It is reported that the internal combustion system that the torch is proud of is independently designed and developed by Aerospace Science and Industry Group. Because it involves military technology, torch burning technology is regarded as the core secret of BOCOG.

In addition, the flame height of the torch flame is 25 to 30 cm at zero wind speed, which can be identified and photographed in strong light and sunlight. In other words, friends who can't arrive at the scene to cheer for the torchbearers can see clear flames in front of the TV. This is because the flame produced by propane is bright yellow. When the torchbearer runs, the flying flame is very eye-catching in different backgrounds. Propane is a colorless, odorless and low-cost fuel, which can adapt to a wide temperature range. In the recent Olympic Games, propane and other mixed gases were used as fuel.

The concept of "Green Olympics" of Beijing Olympic Games can also be embodied in the torch. The torch of Beijing Olympic Games is made of recyclable environmental protection materials, and propane, as a hydrocarbon, mainly produces water vapor and carbon dioxide after combustion, which will not pollute the environment.

What if the torch goes out?

Nearly 20,000 torchbearers have been selected for this torch relay, which means that nearly 20,000 torchbearers will be used in the whole process, including more than 200 torchbearers who run 10 to 12 hours every day in China. What if the torch really goes out?

In order to ensure the dignity of the torch and the purity of the torch relay, it is necessary to keep the torch burning continuously during the torch relay. Therefore, once the torch is extinguished, the flame stored in the flame lamp must be used to ignite the torch. There is a partition in the torch combustion chamber, which divides it into the main combustion chamber and the pre-combustion chamber. Two combustion chambers are combined into one, one goes out and the kindling lamp lights up the other.

Flame lamps are specially used to store flames. After the daily relay, the flame will be kept in the flame lamp until the first torch is rekindled when the torch relay starts again the next day. According to Zhang Jun, the designer of the torch design team, the flame lamps of the previous Olympic Games were similar in appearance to miner's lamps, and no special design was carried out. Only the torch light of Beijing Olympic Games was designed by a special team.

The four stainless steel edges of the kindling lamp refer to the wooden edges of China Palace Lantern. The four metal prisms not only embody the meaning of traditional palace lanterns, but also protect the kindling box. Zhang Jun said: "The glass used to protect the fire is specially designed. The kindling lamp will not break even if it falls to the ground. "

Can the flame climb Mount Everest?

The highlight of this Olympic torch relay is the link of the flame climbing Mount Everest. How can we successfully reach the top of the world?

In May 2008, the team climbing the torch will carry out the task of reaching the top of the torch on another day. While waiting for the summit, the torch relay proceeded normally. However, on the day of the Olympic flame summit, the relay activities in other areas were suspended and continued after the summit to avoid holding two activities related to the Olympic flame at the same time. Liu Peng, director of the State Sports General Administration and chairman of the Chinese Olympic Committee, said: "The preparations for the Olympic flame to climb Mount Everest have been fully prepared. Mount Everest on the Olympic flame is a solemn promise we made to the whole world when we bid for the Olympic Games in 200 1, and we must honor it. "

In addition to the flame lamp that can stand the test of bad weather, China has given strong support to climbers at all technical levels.

At the end of June 5438+ 10 this year, Xizang Autonomous Region released the meteorological support scheme for the Olympic torch relay in Mount Everest, which indicated that the meteorological support for the Olympic torch relay in Mount Everest had been deployed from Beijing to Tibet. Last year, the Central Meteorological Observatory set up the Everest Meteorological Support Service Team, and in May, it built a stereoscopic meteorological automatic observation station in the Everest region of Tibet for the first time.

At present, the three-dimensional meteorological automatic observation station can automatically read the meteorological data and meteorological observation data at different heights of Mount Everest and make predictions. In addition, Tibet has also strengthened the comparison between the GPS sounding observation data of Nyalam Station and the data of Everest Base Camp, as well as the encrypted sounding observation of Base Camp.

The newly released meteorological support plan for the Olympic torch relay on Mount Everest stipulates that the meteorological department in Tibet will ensure the safety of the torch relay from four aspects: forecast service, meteorological observation, technical equipment and communication support, and logistics support.

Last July, the China mountaineering team just completed the task of collectively climbing all the 14 peaks in the world above 8000m, setting another feat in the history of human mountaineering.

Wang Yongfeng, captain of the China mountaineering team, said: "Advanced scientific and technological equipment can play a very good role in protecting and supporting the torch relay." 1988, the weight of Chinese athletes climbing Mount Everest was 14 kg, but now the oxygen supply device with the same storage capacity is only about 3 kg, which gives climbers more physical space. Smooth communication equipment and global positioning instruments can also make the supply follow up in time, avoid the danger and ensure the safety of the torch relay team members.

The flame has been lit, and everything will have to wait until the mysterious "Bird's Nest" main torch is lit on the evening of August 8.

-News sources

On March 24th, the flame collection ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games was held in Olympia, Greece. On June 6th, 2009, BOCOG announced the final overall arrangement of the Beijing Olympic torch relay.

According to Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice chairman of BOCOG, according to the master plan, the torch collection ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games will be held in Olympia, Greece on March 24th, followed by a six-day relay in Greece. On March 30th, the torch handover ceremony was held in Athens. On March 3 1, the flame arrived in Beijing, where a grand ceremony was held to welcome the flame into China and the official launching ceremony of the torch relay of the Beijing Olympic Games.

The torch relay of Beijing Olympic Games is also rich in ways. In addition to the traditional unarmed land running mode, various modes are designed on the basis of ensuring safety, such as bicycle transfer, horse transfer, train transfer, ferry transfer and so on.

Passing the Olympic flame underwater

In 2000, the flame of Sydney Olympic Games made a "romantic journey". Torchbearers carrying diving equipment and holding special torches completed the underwater relay in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef for three minutes, which was the first time in the history of the Olympic Games. Underwater flame is actually an excited particle, and its specific form can be understood as a continuous luminous gas.

Satellite relay of Olympic flame

1976 The torch relay of the Montreal Olympic Games adopted the practice of "interstellar travel". It was ignited in Olympia on July 65438, 2003. After the flame reached Athens, it was transmitted to Canada by satellite laser technology, instead of ships, planes or relays in the past-the thermal energy of the flame was converted into electric waves by sensors, transmitted to Canada by satellite, and then the torch was lit by laser in Montreal.

How did you get the Olympic flame? Where is the Olympic flame kept? Can the torch stand the wind and rain? What if it goes out? ……

How was the kindling born?

From drilling wood for fire to electronic ignition, the way of human fire is more and more advanced, but the principle of collecting Olympic fire is not profound, because only the traditional way of fire can symbolize the purity of the Olympic flame and the inheritance of ancient Olympic traditions. The only way to collect the Olympic flame is to use concave mirror to gather sunlight and generate a high-temperature ignition fire. The principle of making a fire in concave mirror is simple. In many sunny areas of China, concave mirror is also used to boil water for cooking.

After the flame was lit, it was placed in an ancient kindling jar, brought to the altar in the ancient Olympic venues by the chief priestess, lit the torch of the first torchbearer, and then began the journey to the host city of the Olympic Games.

Because the principle of the equipment is simple, but there are certain special requirements for sunshine, and the priestess only has three opportunities to collect the flame, once the fire sacrifice ceremony encounters bad weather, it is necessary to change the collection time of the flame or use spare fire, which is usually collected in advance during rehearsal. For example, at the critical moment of the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, it was cloudy, which led to the failure of closing the fire and had to be replaced by the fire of the rehearsal ceremony the day before.

On March 23, local time, the last rehearsal of the collection of the Beijing Olympic flame was held at the ancient Olympia site in Greece. Maria nafpliotou, the highest priestess, and alexandros nikolaidis, the first torchbearer, handed over the flame.

On March 24th, 2008, Beijing time 17: 00 (Greek time 1 1: 00), in front of the temple of Hera, the site of ancient Olympia in Athens, the Beijing Olympic Games entered a new stage with Maria Nafpli bending over to light a fire, and the Olympic history turned a new page.

The Olympic flame represents the sacredness in everyone's heart, but it also contains a little mystery.