Friction is hard to predict and control, especially since surfaces that come in contact are rarely perfectly flat. New experiments demonstrate that the amount of friction between two silicon surfaces, ...

For the first time, ETH Zurich Materials Scientists have measured the rolling friction of microscopic, micrometer-sized particles. These measures allow them to better understand common items like ...

The measuring tip of an atomic force microscope with a specially designed holder in which a spherical particle is “trapped”. The rights to the images always remain with the person referred to as the ...

Whenever you get around to doing dishes, how easily water slides down a dirty plate depends on how uneven and crusty the plate’s surface is. At the nanoscale, however, where surface features can be ...

Nanotribology is the study of friction, wear, and lubrication at the nanoscale. It focuses on understanding and controlling the interactions between surfaces in relative motion when the contact area ...

A new analysis of the 2018 collapse of Kilauea volcano's caldera helps to confirm the reigning scientific paradigm for how friction works on earthquake faults. The model quantifies the conditions ...

Irregularities present on a surface are often described as surface roughness or texture. These surface textures such as grooves and dimples impart friction, which is the force between two sliding ...

Sticky: The Secret Science of Surfaces Laurie Winkless Bloomsbury Sigma (2021) What links geckos’ feet, plate tectonics, the winter sport curling and spacecraft re-entering the atmosphere? For ...