Friction
This chapter introduces friction as it manifests itself in everyday life. The chapter begins with Amontons’ law (1699) that friction is proportional to the loading force between contacting surfaces (the proportionality constant is called the coefficient of friction). The two primary mechanisms for unlubricated friction are adhesive friction and plowing friction, with the predominant mechanism generally being adhesive friction. Adhesive friction is proportional to the real area of contact; for rough surfaces, this contact area is proportional to the loading force, providing a physical underpinning for Amontons’ law. Processes like the nanoscale flow of atoms and molecules around contact points results in the force needed to induce sliding (static friction) being higher than the force needed to maintain sliding (kinetic friction). Friction decreasing with increasing velocity leads stick-slip motion of the sliding surfaces, where the slip distance can be as short as the distance between atoms.