Physical Mechanisms Responsible for Ice Adhesion

Abstract

We studied an electrostatic model of ice adhesion based on the existence of the surface states of protonic charge carriers on the surface of ice. At distances greater than one intermolecular distance, the model gives an order of magnitude for the adhesive energy, which is significantly greater than both chemical bonding energy and van der Waals forces. It also provides an understanding of the time- and temperature-dependent phenomena that explain the difference between adhesive properties of ice and water.