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Why Are Ice Surfaces Slippery?
The question of why ice is slippery is more complex than it appears. A longstanding theory is that pressure from our shoes or skates melts the ice, creating a thin layer of water that reduces friction. However, this explanation doesn’t fully account for ice’s slipperiness at temperatures well below freezing.
Research suggests that the surface molecules of ice behave differently than those inside, creating a naturally slippery layer. This phenomenon is unique to ice, as most other solids don’t exhibit such behavior. The exact nature of this surface layer and how it interacts with pressure and temperature changes is still under investigation.
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