A Penetrating Look at Ice Friction
February 8, 2021•
Physics 14, 20
A new approach for studying friction on ice helps explain why the ease of sliding depends strongly on temperature, contact pressure, and speed.
Figure 1: This graphic shows how the hardness of ice decreases with increasing temperature. A sphere moving across the surface will penetrate the surface when the ice hardness is below the sphere’s contact pressure. In this case, the sphere will plough over the surface, experiencing more and more friction as the temperature increases and the hardness drops.This graphic shows how the hardness of ice decreases with increasing temperature. A sphere moving across the surface will penetrate the surface when the ice hardness is below the sphere’s contact pressure. In this case, the sphere will plough over th. Show more