The challenge now is to bridge the gap between what is known about these processes on the microscopic and ... such as friction force microscopes, surface force apparatus or quartz microbalances ...

Although humans have been harnessing its power since rubbing two sticks together to build the first fire, the physics of friction remain largely in the dark. Now, Brandeis research is showing that ...

The buildup of static charge often occurs due to friction. At a microscopic level, even smooth surfaces are rough and irregular.

However, this is a good thing for ice skating and sledging. Friction is a force between two surfaces that are sliding, or trying to slide, across each other. For example, when you try to push a ...

When two surfaces are in contact ... suspected that there is no static friction coefficient, but now we have conclusively proven this by using optical micro-measurements of unprecedented accuracy ...