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Q
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The origin of the term "black ice" is not clear.
The term probably arose to contrast "black ice" with "white ice," also known as rime , hoar , or, technically, hoarfrost . Both substances form under similar conditions on the same surfaces. But white ice is always visible and white while black ice, although clear, is always invisible ("in the dark")and, when known to be present on a surface, appears to have the same color as the surface. Surfaces on which white ice and black ice both form are typically not white and often dark.
It is highly unlikely that the term "black ice" arose out of or persists because of racial bias against black people or other people of color.
However, the term "black ice" should be abandoned in favor of the more precise term "invisible ice." Regardless of the origin of the term "black ice," the term is technically inaccurate, because the substance it refers to is clear and, more precisely, invisible.
In addition, there is a risk that the term "black ice," especially if it continues as the term of choice in pertinent technical fields, could be twisted to be used, in those fields or elsewhere, in racially derogatory ways. There is no such risk with the term "invisble ice."
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041219
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