For over a century, we’ve been told that ice becomes slippery because of pressure or friction. Step onto a frozen pavement, and the classic explanation goes: your weight melts a thin layer of ice, causing you to slip. But new research challenges this long-held belief.

Physicists at Saarland University discovered that the true culprit is molecular dipoles—tiny charges within molecules that interact between ice and surfaces like shoe soles. When you step on ice, these dipoles disrupt the orderly structure of the ice at the microscopic level, creating a thin, slippery liquid layer.

Even at extreme cold, far below freezing, dipole interactions persist. A liquid film still forms beneath skis, although it’s thick and viscous, making skiing almost impossible—but the film exists.

This breakthrough overturns nearly two centuries of assumptions and shows that the physics of slipping is far more complex—and fascinating—than anyone imagined.

Next time you fall on ice, blame physics, not just your clumsiness.