Researchers in China have isolated the effects of electronic friction, showing for the first time how the subtle drag force ...

Sometimes you think you have a complete understanding of something and then BOOM—a simple problem throws everything out the window. Let's consider a very basic physics problem involving pushing a ...

A simple one-piece sleeve is sometimes better for reducing friction than complex rolling-element bearings. Besides being greaseless, journal bearings can be made out of high-tech plastics for weight ...

I learned to respect friction, as a phenomenon with many nuances, when I was a graduate student. One day, while teaching a problem session in elementary mechanics, I unwisely invented a new problem to ...

The concepts of friction and wear are easy to understand, yet they can interrelate in complex ways within a tribological system (science concerned with interacting surfaces in relative motion ...