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physicsisphirst
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What is Friction?
Making contact amounts to the mutual repulsion of electrons on each body's surface. So is friction the lateral repulsion experienced as a result of surfaces not being smooth? In other words, the surfaces have roughness and so 'fit' into each other whereupon the electrons can push sideways against each other?
Halliday and Resnick book talk about placing machinist's polished gage blocks ?flat surface to flat surface in air? and that these will stick firmly to each other. Why? What is happening at the surface? How is this different from unpolished surfaces due to which you might get even more points of contact?
They also talk about 'cold welds' in which the metal surfaces at contact points get 'stuck' together. How is this possible unless the electron repulsion is somehow overcome? Or do surfaces of contact points somehow 'fit' together creating lateral resistance?
Ideas and explanations much appreciated. Thank you.
In friendship,
prad
Making contact amounts to the mutual repulsion of electrons on each body's surface. So is friction the lateral repulsion experienced as a result of surfaces not being smooth? In other words, the surfaces have roughness and so 'fit' into each other whereupon the electrons can push sideways against each other?
Halliday and Resnick book talk about placing machinist's polished gage blocks ?flat surface to flat surface in air? and that these will stick firmly to each other. Why? What is happening at the surface? How is this different from unpolished surfaces due to which you might get even more points of contact?
They also talk about 'cold welds' in which the metal surfaces at contact points get 'stuck' together. How is this possible unless the electron repulsion is somehow overcome? Or do surfaces of contact points somehow 'fit' together creating lateral resistance?
Ideas and explanations much appreciated. Thank you.
In friendship,
prad