Did you realize that a spinning glass on a table top will curl the opposite direction of a curling stone?  Want to know more about the physics involved with curling?   This web page references publications (mostly online) about the physics involved with curling, most notably research into why a rock moves the way it does.

If you would like a simple explanation of the how and why of a curling rock curls, then see the article "What Puts the Curl in a Curling Stone?".  That article describes the basics of what happens but he hows and why are not really known, even with all the research!  Some belive that the leading edge of the stone has a thin film of water on it, but others cannot see how that could be and so there is a bit of a spirited debate going on.  Enjoy!

Note: Articles are in reverse chronological order.  Also it appears many of these articles now require a subscription or some payment to read the full text. (Didn't used to--sigh.).

The motion of curling rocks: Experimental investigation and semi-phenomenological description
E.T. Jensen and Mark R.A. Shegelski 
Canadian Journal of Physics Volume 82, Number 10, October 2004, pp. 1-19
Abstract     Full text (PDF 186 kb)

Comment on "The motion of a curling rock"
Mark Denny
Canadian Journal of Physics, Volume 81, Number 6, June 2003, pp.877-881
Abstract     Full text (PDF 48 kb)

Reply to the comment by M. Denny on "The motion of a curling rock"
Mark R.A. Shegelski and Ross Niebergall
Canadian Journal of Physics, Volume 81, Number 6, June 2003, pp.883-888
Abstract     Full text (PDF 51 kb)

Curling rock dynamics: Towards a realistic model
M. Denny
Canadian Journal of Physics, Volume 80, Number 9, September 2002 , pp.1005-1014
Abstract     Full text (PDF 466 kb)

Rapidly rotating sliding cylinders: Trajectories with large lateral displacements
M.R.A. Shegelski and R. Holenstein
Canadian Journal of Physics, Volume 80, Number 2, February 2002 , pp.141-147
Abstract     Full text (PDF 306 kb)

Maximizing the lateral motion of a curling rock
Mark R. Shegelski
Canadian Journal of Physics, Volume 79, Number 8, Augst 2001 , pp. 1117-1120
Abstract     Full text (PDF 41 kb subscription required)

The motion of rapidly rotating cylinders sliding on smooth surfaces
M.R.A. Shegelski
Canadian Journal of Physics Volume 79, Number 5, May 2001, pp. 841-846
Abstract     Full text (PDF 54 kb)

The physics of sliding cylinders and curling rocks
A. Raymond Penner
American Journal of Physics March 2001, Volume 69, Issue 3, pp. 332-339
Abstract (subscription required)

The motion of a curling rock: Analytical approach
M.R. Shegelski
Canadian Journal of Physics Volume 78, Number 9, September 2000, pp. 857-864
Abstract     Full text (PDF 89 kb)

Curling 2000 Web Site
John K. Rollins
Views on the physics and mechanics of rock motion, sweeping, ice making, and deliveries. Includes a "web book" on curling. Although not formal research, the views expressed are interesting. It also includes a rebuttal to Mark Shegelski's comments on Quirks and Quarks.
URL: http://www.telusplanet.net/public/curl2000/

What Puts the Curl in a Curling Stone?
Mark Shegelski
Canadian Curling News, March, 2000
URL: http://icing.org/game/science/shegelsk.htm

The motion of rotating cylinders sliding on pebbled ice
M.R.A. Shegelski, M. Reid, and R. Niebergall
Canadian Journal of Physics Volume 77, Number 11, November 1999, pp. 847-862
Abstract     Full text (PDF 140 kb)

Comment on: Curling rock dynamics - The motion of a curling rock: inertial vs. noninertial reference frames
M.R.A. Shegelski and M. Reid
Canadian Journal of Physics Volume 77, Number 11, November 1999, pp. 903-922
Abstract     Full text (PDF 141 kb)

Reply to comment on: Curling rock dynamics - The motion of a curling rock: inertial vs. noninertial reference frames
M. Denny
Canadian Journal of Physics Volume 77, Number 11, November 1999, pp. 923-926
Abstract     Full text (PDF 56 kb)

The Motion of Rapidly Rotating Curling Rocks (1999)
Mark R. A. Shegelski and Ross Niebergall
Australian Journal of Physics Volume 52 Number 6 1999, pp. 1025-1038
Abstract      Full Text (PDF 199.9 kb)

Curling rock dynamics
M. Denny
Canadian Journal of Physics Volume 76, Number 4, April 1998, pp. 295-304
Abstract     Full text (PDF 171 kb)