Tag - curling

Science Secrets of Curling – There’s Something to All That Sweeping

Curling became an Olympic sport in 1998. It’s an unusual sport to many.

The sport involves one player thrusting a huge “rock” or stone down a sheet of ice. Two other players sweep a path, guiding the rock to the center of the target called the “house.” At the end of play, the team with the most rocks near the center of the house is the winner.

Getting a curling stone from the start to the house is all physics. Force and friction is what makes it all work.

It all starts with a push out of a “hack.” The curler positions their foot to push out of the hack with a lot of force to accelerate with the curling rock. The curler’s force is then transferred to the rock.

Then the sweepers take over. The brush they use is made from a synthetic material that has a little abrasiveness. The objective of sweeping is to make the rock go farther and very slightly alter the rock’s path.

When curling began and was a sport outside, the brushes

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