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Learn what causes friction and various types of friction.
2.
What happens when you jump on a sled
on the side of a snow-covered hill?
You can predict that the sled will slide
down the hill.
Now think about what happens at the
bottom of the hill.
Does the sled keep sliding?
You can predict that the sled will slow
down and stop.
3.
Why does the sled’s motion change on
the side of the hill and then again at the
bottom?
In each case, unbalanced forces act on
the sled.
The force of gravity causes the sled to
accelerate down the hill.
The force of friction eventually causes the
sled to stop
These two forces affect many motions on
earth
4.
When a sled moves across snow, the
bottom of the sled rubs against the
surface of the snow.
In the same way, the skin of a firefighter’s
hands rubs against the polished metal
pole during the slide down the pole.
The force that two surfaces exert on each
other when they rub against each other is
called friction.
5.
The Causes of Friction
In general, smooth surfaces produce
less friction than rough surfaces.
The strength of the force of friction
depends on two factors:
How hard the surfaces push
together
The types of surfaces involved
6.
The skiers in Figure 4 get a fast ride
because there is very little friction
between their skis and the snow.
The reindeer would not be able to pull
them easily over a rough surface such
as sand.
8.
Friction also increases if surfaces push
hard against each other.
If you rub your hands together
forcefully, there is more friction than if
you rub your hands together lightly.
9.
A snow-packed surface or a metal
firehouse pole may seem quite smooth.
But, as you can see in Figure 5, even the
smoothest objects have irregular, bumpy
surfaces.
When the irregularities of one surface
come into contact with those of another
surface, friction occurs.
10.
Figure 5A Smooth Surface? If you look at the polished surface of
an aluminum alloy under a powerful microscope, you’ll find that it is
actually quite rough.
11.
Frictionacts in a direction opposite to
the direction of the object’s motion.
Without friction, a moving object might
not stop until it strikes another object.
12.
Static Friction
Four types of friction are shown in Figure 6. The friction
that acts on objects that are not moving is called static
friction.
Because of static friction, you must use extra force to
start the motion of stationary objects.
For example, think about what happens when you try to
push a heavy desk across a floor.
If you push on the desk with a force less than the force
of static friction between the desk and the floor, the desk
will not move.
To make the desk move, you must exert a force greater
than the force of static friction.
Once the desk is moving, there is no longer any static
friction.
However, there is another type of friction—sliding
friction.
14.
Sliding Friction
Sliding friction occurs when two solid surfaces
slide over each other.
Sliding friction can be useful.
For example, you can spread sand on an icy
path to improve your footing.
Ballet dancers apply a sticky powder to the soles
of their ballet slippers so they won’t slip on the
dance floor.
And when you stop a bicycle with hand brakes,
rubber pads slide against the tire surfaces,
causing the wheels to slow and eventually stop.
On the other hand, sliding friction is a problem if
you fall off your bike and skin your knee!
16.
Rolling Friction
When an object rolls across a surface,
rolling friction occurs.
Rolling friction is easier to overcome than
sliding friction for similar materials.
This type of friction is important to
engineers who design certain products.
For example, skates, skateboards, and
bicycles need wheels that move freely.
17.
So engineers use ball bearings to reduce
the friction between the wheels and the
rest of the product.
These ball bearings are small, smooth
steel balls that reduce friction by rolling
between moving parts.
19.
Fluid Friction
Fluids, such as water, oil, or air, are
materials that flow easily.
Fluid friction occurs when a solid
object moves through a fluid.
Like rolling friction, fluid friction is
easier to overcome than sliding friction.
20.
This is why the parts of machines that must
slide over each other are often bathed in oil.
In this way, the solid parts move through
the fluid instead of sliding against each
other.
When you ride a bike, fluid friction occurs
between you and the air.
Cyclists often wear streamlined helmets
and specially designed clothing to reduce
fluid friction.
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