“We don’t know much about the way skates work.”

That`s easy:

The melting point of water at 1 atmosphere of pressure is very close to 0 °C (32 °F, 273.15 K) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melting_point)

Pressure (symbol: p) is the force per unit area applied on a surface in a direction perpendicular to that surface.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pressure)

The skater’s body weight is concentraded under the blade’s small area, creating a huger <i>pressure</i>.

Under such pressure, the ice melts, for it would freeze a a much lower temperature.

And the skater glides upon this thin layer of liquid water.

high-school physics applied

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