Posted on 02/20/2006 10:31:33 PM PST by raygun
Here is one question that probably won't cross the minds of Sasha Cohen, Irina Slutskaya and the other Olympic women figure skaters today, even if they fall: Why is ice slippery?
The explanation once commonly dispensed in textbooks turns out to be wrong. And slipperiness is just one of the unanswered puzzles about ice. Besides the everyday ice that you slip on, there are about a dozen other forms, some of which experts suspect exist in the hot interior of Earth or on the surface of Pluto.
[snip]
Ice, said Robert M. Rosenberg, an emeritus professor of chemistry at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., and a visiting scholar at Northwestern University, "is a very mysterious solid."
[the above snipped out of a two page article]
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Not only that, but as I'm sure you know, the surface of the blade that contacts the ice is not flat side to side (ie the cross section), but concave, so that the part actually touching the ice is very thin.
Anyone know where one can find the dozen 'forms' of ice's details? Sounds kinda fascinating
We have been in ice conditions for several months continuously in Fairbanks. Today the temperature may go to 5 below and it is snowing a little. Yesterday the snow was falling in large flakes, today it is falling in tiny flakes and the quality is very different. There is wind today and some fogginess in the air as well. Just right to go out driving. For traction on smooth ice you need the smallest contact so the pressure of the weight is on the smallest portion of surface possible. The ice will liquify at that point, but that is also the reason for increased traction: the surface of the the ice nelts and a small crater forms instantly, and the edges of the crater provide what traction there is. If the ice is rough already, then a soft tire compound will let the tread conform to the existing irregularities and it is similar to a gear-driven machine.
It was always nice to find an application that could use the waste heat rather than the continuing cycle of heat, reheat, then cool, etc.
and the only substance which increases in volume when it freezes.
Not quite. Several metal alloys do that--notably typemetal, an alloy of antimony, bismuth, and lead. This was vital for filling all the tiny crevices in type molds (linotype machines). An alloy that shrunk as it solidified would be very poor for printing.
Thank you, sir.
I would be accused of lying if I said, "Nobody ever called me a strange bird."
I thought so: RightWhale's digging a deeper rut from within the one he's in now. He's on record saying where he lives there's no weather. Harumpf.
Oh, and tip of the hat, bottom of the night to ya there RightWhale. Only RightWhale'll understand that last part...
Heh heh heh heh (snicker, snort & chortle).
What I want to know is why A&W rootbeer doesn't taste like it used to when I was a kid.
I'm guessing because you're not a kid. But what do I know, I'm merely self-taught.
The stuff's known as di-hydrous oxide. Then there's this stuff called heavy water. Anyways, get with the program o.k? And yes, if consumed, inhaled, or impacted in sufficient quantities (and speed) it will kill you. Its very bad stuff and should be outlawed.
Where is the government that should be looking out for the little people's best interests? Nowhere. All they do is regulate how much can be flushed at one time.
But we digress. You can't flush ice. Er, well, not a whole lot of it (unless its in a slurry mixture).
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Yeah, well that may be, however, it is my understanding that a new potential health hazard concerning ice has recently reared its ugly little head: ice-worms.
I don't think that anybody can say for certain whether they are blood-sucking ice-worms or not, but the threat is definitely there. What if Al-Qaida puts worms into all our ice? Huh? What then? Yeah, you go right ahead and drink them like some frat-boy downing goldfish. I'm going to pass, o.k?
Did you ever see "Crossroads"? One of the characters portrayed in the movie was played by Joe Satriani.
So I'm just curious, because frankly I think you should sue Joe Satriani for your disability.
1089 views and 34 posts is not a bad return (if I may say so myself).
But snow flakes are always white so Al Sharpton is threatening to sue.
BUMP
The Dept of Weather [there is no weather, merely poor or good driving conditions] advised us of the 1" of snow Friday and the 2" of snow Saturday night. However, they did not advise us of the 5" of snow during the day Saturday, nor the 6" of snow during the day Sunday. Two out of four, not bad considering what we pay them.
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