The (Scientific) History of the Olympic Torch: The 2014 Journey to Russia

The gleam of fire that symbolizes the Olympic games has experienced quite a journey throughout its decorated history. Compared to the ceremonies in the past, this year's Sochi model of the torch endured a relatively scientific expedition.

Since its inception in 1936 at the Summer Games in Berlin, the torch relay has been through all walks of life. Literally. Its history began with the excitement of the Nazis when Hitler was Chancellor of Germany. The 1936 games made this a spectacle (because of Nazi Germany's fascination with flashy ceremonies) rather than a peace symbol, as it represents today. But since then, the torch has an interesting scientific history.

The International Olympic Committee has made it a tradition to now light the flame by using the sun's rays reflecting off a parabolic mirror in order to "guarantee the purity of the flame," as stated in this National Geographic article. The torch journey, which begins in Olympia, Greece, is free to push the envelope after the departure point. Some notable scientific journeys include:

• Traveling underwater prior to the 2000 Olympic games in Sydney, Australia. Marine biologist Wendy-Craig Duncan carried the torch underwater to visit the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia.
• Being sent in code impulses via a satellite prior to the 1996 games in Montreal. A satellite in Greece sent code to Canada where a laser translated the code back into a flame.

Those two events were of great novelty at the time, but the games in Sochi this year may have dwarfed them. A number of "firsts" occurred during the torch's 40,000 mile journey, which include:

• Reaching the top of Mount Elbus, the highest point in Europe. Mountain climber Karina Mezova arrived atop the mountain on Saturday, February 1^st.
• Plunging to the bottom of Lake Baikal in Siberia, the world's deepest lake.
• Traveling on a boat all the way up to the North Pole thanks to a nuclear-powered icebreaker.
• Floating in the International Space Station with two Russian cosmonauts (the flame was obviously extinguished for safety reasons).

So next time you think of the Olympics as a purely athletic and cultural event, remember that there's some science behind it all.