Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, or material elements sliding against

each
other. It may be thought of as the opposite of "slipperiness".

There are several types of friction:

• Dry friction resists relative lateral motion of two solid surfaces in contact. Dry friction is subdivided into static
friction between non-moving surfaces, and kinetic friction between moving surfaces.
• Fluid friction describes the friction between layers within a viscous fluid that are moving relative to each other.[1]
[2]

• Lubricated friction is a case of fluid friction where a fluid separates two solid surfaces.[3][4][5]
• Skin friction is a component of drag, the force resisting the motion of a solid body through a fluid.
• Internal friction is the force resisting motion between the elements making up a solid material while it
undergoes deformation
• When surfaces in contact move relative to each other, the friction between the two surfaces converts kinetic
energy into heat. This property can have dramatic consequences, as illustrated by the use of friction between
pieces of wood to start a fire.

Types of friction 1.rolling friction- riding your bike or skateboard 2.sliding friction-cartlige against your bone 3.
static friction- you trying to push a heavy bookcase 4.fluid friction- when you ride your bike through the air (this is when
an object moves through anything flowing. yes, air counts)

Basic properties

Basic properties of friction have been described as laws: [6]

• Amontons' 1st Law: The force of friction is directly proportional to the applied load.
• Amontons' 2nd Law: The force of friction is independent of the apparent area of contact.
• Coulomb's Law of Friction: Kinetic friction is independent of the sliding velocity.

Amontons' 2nd Law is an idealization assuming perfectly rigid and inelastic materials. For example, wider tires on cars
provide more traction than narrow tires for a given vehicle mass because of surface deformation of the tire.[

Static friction

Static friction is friction between two solid objects that are not moving relative to each other. For example, static friction
can prevent an object from sliding down a sloped surface. The coefficient of static friction, typically denoted as μs, is
usually higher than the coefficient of kinetic friction.

The static friction force must be overcome by an applied force before an object can move. The maximum possible friction
force between two surfaces before sliding begins is the product of the coefficient of static friction and the normal force: .
When there is no sliding occurring, the friction force can have any value from zero up to . Any force smaller than
attempting to slide one surface over the other is opposed by a frictional force of equal magnitude and opposite direction.
Any force larger than overcomes the force of static friction and causes sliding to occur. The instant sliding occurs, static
friction is no longer applicable—the friction between the two surfaces is then called kinetic friction.An example of static
friction is the force that prevents a car wheel from slipping as it rolls on the ground. Even though the wheel is in motion,
the patch of the tire in contact with the ground is stationary relative to the ground, so it is static rather than kinetic
friction.

Kinetic friction

Kinetic (or dynamic) friction occurs when two objects are moving relative to each other and rub together (like a sled on
the ground). The coefficient of kinetic friction is typically denoted as μk, and is usually less than the coefficient of static
friction for the same materials.[11][12] In fact, Richard Feynman reports that "with dry metals it is very hard to show any
difference."[13]

New models are beginning to show how kinetic friction can be greater than static friction.[14] Contrary to earlier
explanations, kinetic friction is now understood not to be caused by surface roughness but by chemical bonding between
the surfaces.[15] Surface roughness and contact area, however, do affect kinetic friction for micro- and nano-scale objects
where surface area forces dominate inertial forces.[16]

Angle of friction
For the maximum angle of static friction between granular materials, see Angle of repose.

For certain applications it is more useful to define static friction in terms of the maximum angle before which one of the
items will begin sliding. This is called the angle of friction or friction angle. It is defined as:

where θ is the angle from horizontal and µ is the static coefficient of friction between the objects.[17] This formula can also
be used to calculate µ from empirical measurements of the friction angle.

Friction at the atomic level

Determining the forces required to move atoms past each other is a challenge in designing nanomachines. In 2008
scientists for the first time were able to move a single atom across a surface, and measure the forces required. Using
ultrahigh vacuum and nearly-zero temperature (5 K), they used a modified atomic force microscope to drag a cobalt
atom, and a carbon monoxide molecule, across surfaces of copper and platinum.[18]

Applications

Friction is an important factor in many engineering disciplines.

Transportation

• Rail adhesion refers to the grip wheels of a train have on the rails.
• Road slipperiness is an important design and safety factor for automobiles
o Split friction is a particularly dangerous condition arising due to varying friction on either side of a car.
o Road texture affects the interaction of tires and the driving surface.

Measurement

• A tribometer is an instrument that measures friction on a surface.

Mechanics, branch of physics concerned with motion and the forces that tend to cause it; it includes study
of the mechanical properties of matter, such as density, elasticity, and viscosity. Mechanics may be roughly
divided into statics and dynamics; statics deals with bodies at rest and is concerned with such topics as
buoyancy, equilibrium, and the principles of simple machines, while dynamics deals with bodies in motion and
is sometimes further divided into kinematics (description of motion without regard to its cause) and kinetics
(explanation of changes in motion as a result of forces). A recent subdiscipline of dynamics is nonlinear
dynamics, the study of systems in which small changes in a variable may have large effects. The science of
mechanics may also be broken down, according to the state of matter being studied, into solid mechanics and
fluid mechanics. The latter, the mechanics of liquids and gases, includes hydrostatics, hydrodynamics,
pneumatics, aerodynamics, and other fields