The origin of curling is on a frozen pond or a frozen lake. It's not smooth and shiny, like a speed skating rink. Ice Meisters will walk up and down the whole length of the curling rink. They use basically a shower head to spray pebbles all over the surface. And they're trying to reduce friction so that if you try and curl a curling stone, it won't do that.
What makes ice slippery? Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-hosts Chuck Nice and Gary O’Reilly uncover the complex physics of ice and cool facts we’re still learning about it with physicist and author, Laurie Winkless.
NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://startalkmedia.com/show/slippery-science-the-physics-of-ice/
Photo Credit: Sharon Mollerus, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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