SteveS wrote:

"bob watkinson" wrote in message
...
Why is ice slippery? When other substances such as metal or candlewax
reach a temperature that solidifies them they are not slippery so why
water?

Interesting question. Google found me the following:

http://www.exploratorium.edu/hockey/ice2.html


"These new findings challenge long-held theories about why ice is slippery.
In the past, scientists believed that either pressure or friction melted
the ice, creating a water lubricant that allows skates and pucks to slide."

The above statement makes me wonder what is meant by "new", "in the past"
and, possibly, "scientists".

A book on ice published over forty years ago quashed the idea that
slipperiness was due to surface lubrication resulting from
pressure-melting. It explained that the surface slippery layer was due to
peculiar characteristics of the molecular structure of ice at the surface.

Yet another "new" discovery that is no such thing.

Graham