THE WINTER OLYMPIC

SPORT OF CURLING!

By: Savannah (Physics B)

What exactly is curling?

What’s the objective of Curling?

That is a very good question.

Okay first, we should get a bit of the terminology down. The playing

surface in curling is called "the sheet."• The sheet measurements can

be different, but they're usually around 150 feet long by 15 feet

wide. The sheet is covered with tiny droplets of water that become

ice and cause the stones to "curl,"• or move away from a straight

path. These water droplets are known as "pebble."•

At each end there's a target that looks like a big bullseye. These

targets are known as "the houses."• The center of the house is known

as the "button."• Basically, the object of the game is to get your

stones closer to the button than the other team gets theirs.

What exactly is curling?

What’s with the sweeping?

Well, remember how there’s the those ice droplets on the sheet

(pebbles) that the rock has to travel upon? When the stone

touches the pebble, there’s friction, which in this case can slow

down the rock and can cause it to deviate from its straight

path to the center (house).

The sweeping actually helps fight the problem. The sweeping

motion makes the temperature go up by a degree or 2. This

reduces the friction between the pebble and the stone and

keeps it moving in a straight line.

What exactly is curling?

Here’s a recent example! Women’s curling final,

Canada vs. Sweden. This was in Sochi 2014 Winter

Olympics. Canada brought home the gold with a

score of 6-3!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNicW2nhvYQ

Watch if you want to know what it’s like

Let’s get down to business now!

Now, we’re not here to talk about curling day now

are we? No! We’re here to learn about the physics

that are applied to this awesome sport.

I will be answering the following questions: How do

the laws of physics apply to this sport, How do the

Olympic athletes use their knowledge of physics to

help them to be best in their sport, and are the

athletes trying to maximize certain factors to

improve their performance.

What the stones look like!

The Friction

Friction plays a huge roll when it comes to the sport of curling. There friction with the members on the curling team. When they are pushing the rock (which is a force applied by the way), the members are sliding down the sheet but they are able to slide on the ice because the ice a limited friction. Let’s say they were on a surface with much more friction, like land, it really wouldn’t be easy for them to slide. Another way friction is created is by the sweepers! They might not seem like they play a large part, but in fact they do! The sweepers can either create or reduce friction on the ice to make the stone go a longer or shorter distance. The stones are actually sliding on a layer of water, so therefore the thicker the layer of water, the less amount of friction.

Normal Force and Gravitational Force

The normal and the

gravity force are

acted upon the rock.

Those forces help each other and cancel

each other out.

The normal force is the support force

exerted upon an object that is in contact

with another stable object. So the rock is

sitting on the ice, the surface is exerting a

force upwards upon the rock, in order

to support the rock.

The gravity force is upon the earth`s

experience that is directed downward

towards the center of the earth. So the rock

has a natural gravitational force directed

downwards.

Fn

Fg

Newton’s First Law

The rock usually stays put and doesn’t move, although the

thrower has the power to push the rock and

apply the force.

This force

pushes the rock

down the sheet

of ice. It will

continue to

slide until

another force

is acted upon it,

like it hitting

another rock in

the bullseye.

Newton’s Third Law

This Law plays a huge part in the game of curling.

The thrower pushes off of this little piece sticking up

to push yourself. As the thrower is pushing off, the

piece is pushing on him propelling him forward. The

throwers force, as he slides, is acting on the rock and

pushing the rock with an equal force.

Conclusion

So as you can see, curling involves physics, along with other

sports. These physics can improve your game, so if you learn

the sciences behind it, it helps! You can use your brand new

knowledge of inertia, to help choose the type of rock that will

be best suited for your thrower and your style of play. Your

new frictional wisdom can help you know when to sweep,

either to keep your stone going, or slow it down. You can use

Newton's Third Law to improve how you push yourself along

the ice. If you can combine your knowledge of friction, inertia,

and Newton's Laws, then your curling game will be much

improved.

Thank you! :)

Hope you learned some new stuff and enjoyed it!

(I know

it’s

Vancouver

2010

poster but

it’s okay)