Weatherwatch: The surprisingly complex science of ice skating

Pressure, frictional heating and a disordered layer of molecules on top of the ice make skating possible

Ice skating is counterintuitive: why should a narrow blade make it easier to slide over the ice? The science is surprisingly complex, but unscientific people worked out the practical application a long time ago.

William FitzStephen described how Londoners entertained themselves in freezing conditions in 1173: Crowds of young men go out to play on the ice. Some of them fit shinbones of cattle on their feet, tying them round their ankles ... and are carried along as fast as a flying bird."