DENVER (KDVR) — The topic of natural versus man-made snow has been buzz-worthy lately because of the Winter Olympics.

The snow that the competitors are skiing and snowboarding on in China is machine-made. There is a big difference in the makeup of natural snow compared to machine snow and athletes can certainly feel the difference.

The photo above shows the difference in the structure of natural and machine-made snow under a microscope.

Natural snow has a lot more air-filled pockets and is made up of less water content than machine-made. This makes it more of a soft and fluffy snow.

The machine-made snow is more dense and icy with ball bearings. This can create conditions that make ski or snowboard racers faster but can be slick and icy compared to natural snow.