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TOM SCOTT: The Youth Winter Olympic Games

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have brought me out to Lillehammer, in Norway,
and to this:

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the Hunderfossen Bobsleigh Track,

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the second largest freezer in Norway.

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I know, you see "Norway" and "freezer",

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and you think about the seed vault that's
up in the Arctic

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which is technically bigger than this

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but this track really is one giant freezer.

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This track stays frozen in temperatures up
to 20°C

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so athletes can speed down here

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and pull 4G on the final turn

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even when there really shouldn't be any ice
for them to slide on.

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JAN ODDVAR TANGEN: We can keep it frozen

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during the summer -- in a normal Norwegian
summer!

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It's built with concrete. Inside the concrete,

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there are lots of layers with pipes.

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Inside the pipes, it's running with ammonia.

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TS: When a liquid evaporates, it pulls in
heat from the surrounding area.

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So there are 90 tonnes of ammonia circulating
in pipes

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inside this freezer, underneath the track,

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being repeatedly compressed and then evaporated

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to move heat away. Ammonia, by the way,

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really dangerous if it's not handled properly.

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JOT: Because ammonia is the fastest working
fluid to drag away the warmth.

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All the ammonia is going inside 65km of pipes

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and it will stay inside the pipes in all conditions.

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If something happens, I will shut down the
spots

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that accidentally have the leaks.

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It's lighter than air, so it will be going
upwards

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so you won't be harmed!

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TS: But the laws of thermodynamics always
hold true.

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You can't create cold. You can only ever move
heat.

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And in the process of moving it, you generate
more heat.

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That's why the back of your fridge at home
is warm,

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and why air conditioning units need to vent
outside.

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And on a freezer this big? That's quite a
lot of heat to move.

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JOT: The first thing we're doing is cleaning
the track

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with normal hoses with water, cleaning from
the summer.

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And then, start of the season, we're running
with luge the first week,

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and then we start with the skeleton bob after
approximately 10 days

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because then the ice thickness is thick enough

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to cope with the bob and skeleton.

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TS: And with bobsleigh and luge runs being
measured

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in hundredths of a second,

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keeping the ice consistently frozen

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is important for what is called "competitive
parity":

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basically, making sure everyone has a fair
shot.

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A little bit more or less friction over a
day could change the result.

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And when there's this much riding on how fast
someone goes down a track?

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Turns out having a big freezer is really important.

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There's a load more videos over on the Olympics
channel

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and on my channel, go check 'em out, go subscribe,

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and thank you to the Youth Winter Olympic
Games

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for bringing me out here to Lillehammer.

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