Cutting ice: nanowire regelation

Even below its normal melting temperature, ice melts when subjected to high pressure and refreezes once the pressure is lifted. A classic demonstration of this regelation phenomenon is the passing of a thin wire through a block of ice when sufficient force is exerted. Here we present a molecular-dyn...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2010-08, Vol.105 (8), p.086102-086102, Article 086102
Main Authors: Hynninen, Teemu, Heinonen, Vili, Dias, Cristiano L, Karttunen, Mikko, Foster, Adam S, Ala-Nissila, Tapio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Gels
Hydrodynamics
Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
Ice
Molecular Dynamics Simulation
Nanowires - chemistry
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Even below its normal melting temperature, ice melts when subjected to high pressure and refreezes once the pressure is lifted. A classic demonstration of this regelation phenomenon is the passing of a thin wire through a block of ice when sufficient force is exerted. Here we present a molecular-dynamics study of a nanowire cutting through ice to unravel the molecular level mechanisms responsible for regelation. In particular, we show that the transition from a stationary to a moving wire due to increased driving force changes from symmetric and continuous to asymmetric and discontinuous as a hydrophilic wire is replaced by a hydrophobic one. This is explained at the molecular level in terms of the wetting properties of the wire.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.086102