They added that on icy winter pavements, it has long\u00a0been believed\u00a0that the combination of body weight and the warmth of shoe soles generates enough pressure to\u00a0melt the surface<\/a>, ultimately leading to slips and falls.<\/p>\n However, according to their newest research,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0actually the interaction between molecular dipoles in the ice and those in the contacting surface, such as a shoe sole, that disrupts the\u00a0ice\u2019s\u00a0structure and makes it slippery.<\/p>\n To challenge the long-held belief, the team used advanced computer simulations, which revealed that\u00a0molecular dipoles<\/a>, which occur due to the unequal sharing of electrons between atoms in a molecule, are the key drivers behind the formation of this slippery layer.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to scientists, a molecular dipole arises when a molecule has partial positive and partial negative charge regions, giving the molecule an overall polarity that points in a specific direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n Slippery even near absolute zero<\/p>\n The team took a closer look at how ice forms to understand the phenomenon. Below the freezing point, water molecules organize into a rigid crystal lattice, aligning in a highly ordered pattern that gives ice its solid and structured form.<\/p>\n When an individual steps onto the surface of ice,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0not pressure or friction that causes it to become slippery, but\u00a0rather the interaction between\u00a0molecular dipoles<\/a>\u00a0in the shoe sole and those in the ice. This contact instantly disrupts the previously well-ordered crystal structure, making it unstable and slick.<\/p>\n \u201cIn three dimensions, these dipole-dipole interactions become\u00a0\u2018frustrated\u2019,\u201d\u00a0M\u00fcser elaborated, referring to a physics concept where competing forces prevent a stable, ordered structure.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the microscopic level, this frustration at the ice-shoe interface disrupts the crystal lattice, turning it disordered, amorphous, and eventually liquid.\u00a0What\u2019s\u00a0more in overturning\u00a0Thompson\u2019s\u00a0theory, the team also debunked another widespread misconception.<\/p>\n \u201cUntil now, it\u00a0was assumed\u00a0that skiing below \u201340 degrees Celsius is impossible because\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0simply too cold for a thin lubricating liquid film to form beneath the skis,\u201d\u00a0M\u00fcser revealed in a\u00a0press release<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cThat too, it turns out, is incorrect.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n He explained that dipole interactions persist even at extremely low temperatures. Remarkably, a liquid film still forms between ice and ski, even near absolute zero. The film becomes thicker than honey at such temperatures, hardly recognizable as water, and far too viscous for skiing. However, it still exists.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/A2_da497a.jpg\" "\\"Scientists")
The illustration shows how contact with ice, whether through skis, skates, or shoes disrupts its orderly crystal structure. Credit: AG M\u00fcser<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/A3.jpg\" "\\"Scientists")
Martin M\u00fcser, PhD, a materials simulation professor at Saarland University. Credit: Saarland University \/ Thorsten Mohr<\/a><\/p>\n