Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 3, 2026
08:01
A Microfluidic Approach for the Study of Ice and Clathrate Hydrate Crystallization
Published on: August 18, 2022
3.6K
Abrupt eruptive instability of ice adhered to solid surfaces
Lei Wang1,2, Kai Wu3, Huijie Zhang1,4
1Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science, Key Laboratory of Green Printing, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China.
Science Advances
|April 1, 2026
Summary
Sudden ice fracture events, like frost quakes, are now explained by a new eruptive fracture model. This discovery reveals ice
Area of Science:
- Cryospheric science
- Materials science
- Geophysics
Background:
- Violent ice fracture events can cause significant climatic and geomorphic changes.
- Current models fail to explain the explosive nature of natural ice fracture events.
Purpose of the Study:
- To uncover the mechanism behind explosive ice fracture.
- To investigate the role of internal grain size in ice fracture behavior.
- To determine the tensile strength of adhered ice.
Main Methods:
- Investigated ice fracture on solid surfaces under quasistatic cooling.
- Analyzed the dependence of fracture mode on internal grain size.
- Measured the apparent tensile strength of adhered ice.
Main Results:
- Identified a novel eruptive fracture mechanism in adhered ice.
- Fracture mode transitions from progressive to abrupt based on grain size.
- Adhered ice exhibits significantly higher tensile strength (39-58 MPa) than typical ice (0.7-3.1 MPa).
Conclusions:
- The study provides a mechanistic framework for predicting abrupt cryospheric fracture.
- Findings can inform the design of self-actuating deicing systems exploiting thermomechanical instabilities.
Related Concept Videos
02:33Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
20.9K
Some solids can transition directly into the gaseous state, bypassing the liquid state, via a process known as sublimation. At room temperature and standard pressure, a piece of dry ice (solid CO2) sublimes, appearing to gradually disappear without ever forming any liquid. Snow and ice sublimate at temperatures below the melting point of water, a slow process that may be accelerated by winds and the reduced atmospheric pressures at high altitudes. When solid iodine is warmed, the solid sublimes...
20.9K
02:39Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
15.7K
Heating a crystalline solid increases the average energy of its atoms, molecules, or ions, and the solid gets hotter. At some point, the added energy becomes large enough to partially overcome the forces holding the molecules or ions of the solid in their fixed positions, and the solid begins the process of transitioning to the liquid state or melting. At this point, the temperature of the solid stops rising, despite the continual input of heat, and it remains constant until all of the solid is...
15.7K
02:39Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation
22.1K
The physical form of a substance changes on changing its temperature. For example, raising the temperature of a liquid causes the liquid to vaporize (convert into vapor). The process is called vaporization—a surface phenomenon. Vaporization occurs when the thermal motion of the molecules overcome the intermolecular forces, and the molecules (at the surface) escape into the gaseous state. When a liquid vaporizes in a closed container, gas molecules cannot escape. As these gas phase molecules...
22.1K
01:30Impact
668
Impact occurs when two bodies collide, leading to the application of impulsive forces between them. Analyzing impact mechanics involves considering two colliding particles moving along a line known as the line of impact, which passes through their centers and is perpendicular to the contact plane.
When particles with different initial velocities collide, they induce deformation by applying equal and opposite impulses. At the point of maximum deformation, the particles move together with...
When particles with different initial velocities collide, they induce deformation by applying equal and opposite impulses. At the point of maximum deformation, the particles move together with...
668
01:09Theories of Dissolution: The Danckwerts' Model and Interfacial Barrier Model
911
Various dissolution theories provide insight into the factors that influence the dissolution rate. Danckwerts' Model suggests that turbulence, rather than a stagnant layer, characterizes the dissolution medium at the solid-liquid interface. In this model, the agitated solvent contains macroscopic packets that move to the interface via eddy currents, facilitating the absorption and delivery of the drug to the bulk solution. The regular replenishment of solvent packets maintains the...
911
01:07Frictional Force
10.7K
When a body is in motion, it encounters resistance because the body interacts with its surroundings. This resistance is known as friction, a common yet complex force whose behavior is still not completely understood. Friction opposes relative motion between systems in contact, but also allows us to move. Friction arises in part due to the roughness of surfaces in contact. For one object to move along a surface, it must rise to where the peaks of the surface can skip along the bottom of the...
10.7K