----- Original Message ----- From: Horace Heffner <[email protected]> Date: Sunday, May 17, 2009 5:32 am Subject: Re: [Vo]:OT: Why Ice is Slippery > > On May 16, 2009, at 6:39 PM, Harry Veeder wrote: > > > As we all know ice is slippery because of melting from pressure and > > friction. > > Right? Not really... > > Harry > > > > http://www.exploratorium.edu/hockey/ice2.html > > > > Slippery All the Time > > > The slippery at all temperatures notion doesn't agree with > practical > experience driving on ice. Here icy roads (or lake or river > surfaces) are very slippery near freezing, and have a firm grip > down > near -40 degrees F. This is probably due to hoar frost adhering > and > acting like a mounted abrasive - making the ice surface similar to > > sand paper. The experiments were probably done on very flat ice > surfaces. > > Best regards, > > Horace Heffner > http://www.mtaonline.net/~hheffner/ >
Personally, I am interested in this work because it bears on the controversy over why a curling stone curls. The motion of a curling stone has been simulated on a computer using Newton's law's motion and some models of melting from pressure and friction, but unless the ice actual melts according to the models, the simulations demonstrate nothing. Here is another discussion the research which says a bit more about the experiment itself. http://www.felixonline.co.uk/articles/2301/The_science_of_ice_skating Harry
