Figure 1: Lateral force versus nominal lateral displacement data for typical SA-SHS tests after stationary holds at 60% RH. Although the unusually large ageing effect at the single-asperity level ...

You’re not just imagining it, objects really are harder to shift the longer they sit there. A pair of scientists think they have discovered why. Have you ever had the impression that heavy items of ...

For a car to accelerate there has to be friction between the tire and the surface of the road. The amount of friction generated depends on numerous factors, including the minute intermolecular forces ...

Friction is responsible for about twenty percent of the world energy consumption. The main reason for this is that frictional forces slow down the motion of surfaces in contact: think of the moving ...

I'll be honest—friction is pretty complicated. Imagine that I have a block of wood sliding on a table. In some way, the atoms on the surface of the wood block are interacting with the surface atoms on ...

Frictional forces play a role in many activities – riding a bike, going bowling, and even lighting a match. When two surfaces rub together they create friction, which works to slow movement down. In ...

Quick, out behind the bike shed, Professors Pendry and Leonhardt are having a fight over a completely hypothetical situation. If we hurry, we should catch the end of round three. Science: it is ...

I don't normally watch many NASCAR races, but I do come across some NASCAR videos online. Sometimes these clips become the basis of a great physics problem. In this case, it's a 21-car crash at the ...

Energy is 'lost' or not used effectively when frictional forces occur. For example, when a bike applies its brakes and slows down the kinetic energy of the bike is transformed into heat energy in the ...