The atomic scale details of the melting of solid argon were monitored with the aid of molecular dynamics simulations. The potential energy distribution is substantially disturbed by an increase in the interatomic distance and the random of set distance from the lattice points, with increasing temperature. The potential energy barriers between the lattice points decrease in magnitude with the temperature. Eventually, at the melting point, these barriers can be overcome by atoms that are excited with the entropy gain acquired when the atoms obtain rotational freedom in their atomic motion, and the rotational freedom leads to the collapse of the crystal structure. Furthermore, it was found that the surface of crystals plays an important role in the melting process: the surface eliminates the barrier for the nucleation of the liquid phase and facilitates the melting process. Moreover, the atomic structure of the surface varies with increasing temperature, first via surface roughening and then, before the bulk melts, via surface melting.