PASS IT ON: Tibetan veteran mountaineer Norbu Zhamdui (first, left) lit the torch held by the first bearer Gyigyi to begin the five-person torch relay at the 8,844.43-meter Qomolangma summit

When the world saw live telecasts of the Olympic flame burning on the top of Mount Qomolangma (Mount Everest) at 9:17 on the morning of May 8, few realized the years of work and high level of technology that had gone into making that historical moment possible.

While the Olympic motto-swifter, higher and stronger-usually applies to human endurance and skill in the field of sports, the torch relay as part of the ascent of the world's highest peak had also relied on this motto to push the technicians in the supporting roles to bring modern science and technology into the game.

Secret of the flame

In 2006, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp., specializing in designing of the burning system for rockets, was entrusted with the task of designing the combustion system for the Olympic torch.

The corporation has various test modules, which produce extreme weather conditions, such as gales, rainstorms, freezing temperature and low air pressure that were all ideal for the torch's mountain ascent.

According to Ma Lin, Director of the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission, there were two major obstacles in sending the Olympic flame to the world's highest peak. "On one hand, the torch must be able to withstand adverse weather conditions of frequent hailstones and little oxygen. While on the other, the design must ensure mountain climbers can conveniently carry the torch," Ma said during a radio interview this February.

Liu Xingzhou, chief engineer for the designing team at the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp., explained that the same techniques to keep rocket motors burning in thin air can be applied to the burning system of the torch. "Both require technology of combustion and fluid mechanics, as well as share similar science principles on thermodynamics and aerodynamics."

"We installed a pressure-retaining valve in the torch, which enables the flame to withstand winds of up to 65 km an hour, downpours of 6 cm per hour, and temperatures of minus 40 degrees Celsius," Liu told Xinhua News Agency.

In addition to resistance against strong winds and rains, an oxygen supply device was installed to maintain its combustion at high altitude. For a revolutionary change, the flame was fueled entirely by solid propane, 250 mm for each torch, which can be fed from within to keep it burning. "We don't have to worry about pollution, since only carbon dioxide and water remain after burning," said Liu.

Following the double burning system design previously used on rocket motors, the torch contains both premix and diffusion flames.

The successful flame ascent to Mount Qomolangma has fulfilled a "hi-tech Olympics" commitment that China made, Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang told a press conference on May 8.