Football has beenrocked by the “ Deflategate”scandal , swimmingbanned full - body“super lawsuit , ” and now the play of curling — yes , coil — has its own raging controversy . Dubbed “ Broomgate , ” much of the fuss centers on a new kind of curl broom called the icePad , fabricate by Hardline Curling .
It ’s not that the players are match to new technology in oecumenical ; they ’re just worried the icePad and alike eminent - tech equipment are altering the first harmonic of the play in distressing ways by drastically reduce the level of accomplishment take . TheWorld Curling Federationtemporarily ostracise the icePad for the 2015/2016 season , and is now view new regulation to cover this growing concern among players .
As a game , curlingis pretty simple — kind of like bocce ballock on crank . One someone on a squad slide a heavy granite stone ( or “ rock ” ) down the ice . Then two other team members dementedly sweep up the shabu in front of the stone with niggling brooms , trying to get as cheeseparing as possible to the center of a aim area made up of four colored , concentric mob . The more you sweep , the longer the Isidor Feinstein Stone will travel and the less it will kink .
Sometimes you want it to curl , or do n’t want it to travel as far . It depends on the initial throw . So the sweepers are guided by the “ skip ” : a player who watches how the stone is moving and instructs the sweepers on how to aline their sweeping to keep the stone on the just trajectory . The teams take twist throwing eight curling Isidor Feinstein Stone each , per “ end ” ( there are unremarkably eight to ten such “ end ” in a game ) . Whoever gets the most stones closest to the object center acquire .
To understand why “ Broomgate ” is such a vainglorious deal , you need to delve into thephysics involvedin the sport . Mostly , it come down to inactivity , impulse , and rubbing — and the fact that , for curling purpose , the shabu is n’t smooth , it ’s “ pebbled . ” As Iwrote for Scientific Americanin 2014 :
Once a stone is thrown and gets some impulse , it can slide quite a farsighted fashion before the detrition work up up enough to slow it to a stoppage . The well players can control the friction , the better they can manipulate the curl of the stone as it travels down the ice and position it right where they desire it in the house . The methamphetamine itself is special : the surface is sprayed with droplets that then suspend , spring a pebbled surface that reduce friction . as does a orbitual “ running band ” along the bottom of the stone — the only part of the stone that in reality touch the pebbled ice , because the stone ’s weight is concentrated on a very little area compared to regular flat ice .
The frenzied sweeping with the little broom helps dilute clash even further , slightly heating that section of the ice very concisely before it refreezes . The endocarp Robert Floyd Curl Jr. more if you result it alone . Thepoint of the sweepingis to make the stone curl less and travel further . How much or how small you cross depend on where you want to the Harlan Stone to end up . There ’s a lot more skill involved than you think , which is why the sport is sometimes dubbed “ chess on ice . ”
Why should the icePad make such a difference ? Usually , the curling stone travels on top of the pebbled open of the ice-skating rink . Traditional broom use foam or tomentum , which surround a given pebble and engender extra friction , relieve oneself the sweepers forge that much harder . In contrast , according to the Hardline site , the icePad “ isolates the clash due to brushing only where the running surface of the rock has impinging with frappe — on top of the pebble — with fiddling resistor . ”
That means sweepers have unprecedented control over the management the stone is moving — peradventure too much , according to many player . There ’s a strong belief in the summercater that it ’s the players throwing the Isidor Feinstein Stone , not the sweeper , who should have the strongest influence on individual shots .
“ It convey a lot of the skill away from the throwers and put it in the hand of the sweepers and the person who was calling the expanse , ” crimper Brad Gushue , a former Olympic gold medalist , told NPR . “ It ’s just allowed top actor too much control to the point where it is in reality difficult to miss some shots on the contrast . ” And where ’s the challenge in that ? As another Olympian gold medallist , Ben Hebert , assure the Ottawa Citizen , “ When you throw a great stone , we require you to make the shot , and , when you do n’t throw a nifty rock , I do n’t call up you deserve to make the shot . ”
So the World Curling Federationheld a “ Sweeping Summit”a few week ago , whereby eleven top crimper and scientist from Canada ’s National Research Council test over 50 different curling brooms to determine their impact on the trajectory of the curling stones along the frappe . aid by laser and a automatonlike stone potter , the accumulate data will be analyzed and used to determine how the current regulation should be updated in light of these technological innovations . A vote is expected in September .
Maybe next the WCF can undertake theongoing debateaboutwhy a curling stonecurls in the same instruction ( rather than the diametric guidance ) that you spin it .
[ Mental Floss ]
PhysicsScienceSports
Daily Newsletter
Get the best tech , scientific discipline , and culture news in your inbox daily .
News from the future , delivered to your present .
You May Also Like
