After the initial concept was finalized, the torch was handed off to a team at the Georgia Institute of Technology for 3D modeling and prototype development. Tim Purdy, senior lecturer of industrial design, led the modeling team. Prototypes were as far as 3D printing could take the torch. Even in , for London, large-scale 3D printing of the torch was considered, but was dropped in favor of more reliable metal welding and laser perforation.
Equally important as the outer design of the torch is the inner workings of the fuel canister system that feeds the flame visible at its top. In fact, according to Tecosim, the engineering firm that collaborated on the London torch with Barber Osgerby, the first metric for deciding which type of fuel and fuel system would be used was the size of the canister.
The canister determines the amount of space available in the aesthetic design and the amount of fuel required to produce a yellow flame of at least 10 inches in height, with a burn duration of a minimum of 10 minutes. After a fuel canister is selected, the next consideration is the kind of fuel that will be used. The seven most recent Olympic torches have been fueled by substances such as propane, butane, or a mixture of the two. The London torch designers explored a green fuel alternative which combined elephant grass and coconut oil, but it was ultimately abandoned for the final torch due to challenges with lighting and extinguishing the flame, Osgerby says.
Both design teams ultimately elected to go with a mix of propane and butane. While butane gas can be stored at a lower pressure than propane, it requires higher temperatures to be converted from a liquid in the canister to a gas, the state in which it is fed to the flame.
Tecosim says the burner system itself is very similar to that of a hot air balloon. Liquified gas is removed from the canister with a long offtake tube that runs up the length of the torch. From there, fuel is dispensed into a stainless steel coil that wraps around the burner unit at the very top of the torch, just under the base of the flame. Here, the fuel is heated very quickly and converted from a liquid to a gas before being fed to the flame via the burner nozzle. Finally, the gas is released through a special valve in the burner unit.
While the principle of all gas-fueled Olympic torches is the same, significant factors in the design and in the season of the games create specific engineering challenges.
As a result, each torch system is unique. The Olympic Torch Today The Olympic Torch remains a symbol of the Olympics and a continued tradition through the three ceremonies held at each Olympics.
The High Priestess, followed by a group of priestesses, call upon Apollo, the god of light, to light the torch in front of the Temple of Hera. The sun reflects against a parabolic mirror to light strips of old camera film, which starts the flame. The official Olympic website livestreams the event.
Olympic Torch Relay — The Olympic Torch is brought from Olympia to the Panathenaiko in Athens for another ceremony, where the flame is officially presented to the host city. Olympic Cauldron Lighting — Upon arrival of the Olympic Torch to the host city, the final torchbearer lights the Olympic cauldron at the start of the Olympic Games.
The cauldron remains lit for the duration of the Games. Related Blog Posts. Learn More. Top 5 Moments in the U. Learn How to Travel Abroad on a Budget. Download your Ultimate Guide to Budget Travel to get money-saving tips from real travel experts. You'll discover budget-friendly destinations around the world and learn where to splurge, where to save, and how to shop for the very best deals. The torch relay — during which a torch is lit at the original location of the Games in Olympia, Greece, and carried to the host of the current games — started eight years later.
This symbolic race represents the journey of the Olympics from past to present. While some believe that the Olympic flame has never gone out since the first Games, this is not actually the case. The flame is actually relit in Greece a few months before each Olympics, and then the torch relay begins. The Olympic cauldron itself has been extinguished by accident once, when a rainstorm hit the Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was initially re-lit using a cigarette lighter, before being extinguished again and re-lit using a backup flame.
Of course, there is one time the flame is meant to be extinguished: during the closing ceremony, which marks the end of the Olympics. Log In.
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