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The Laws of Motion
Further Applications of Newton's Laws
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Concept Version 7
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Friction: Kinetic

Friction

Friction

Frictional forces always oppose motion or attempted motion between objects in contact. Friction arises in part because of the roughness of the surfaces in contact, as seen in the expanded view. In order for the object to move, it must rise to where the peaks can skip along the bottom surface. Thus, a force is required just to set the object in motion. Some of the peaks will be broken off, also requiring a force to maintain motion. Much of the friction is actually due to attractive forces between molecules making up the two objects, so that even perfectly smooth surfaces are not friction-free. Such adhesive forces also depend on the substances the surfaces are made of, explaining, for example, why rubber-soled shoes slip less than those with leather soles.

Source

    Boundless vets and curates high-quality, openly licensed content from around the Internet. This particular resource used the following sources:

    "OpenStax College, Friction. January 31, 2013."
    http://cnx.org/content/m42139/latest/Figure_06_01_01a.jpg OpenStax CNX CC BY 3.0.

Related Terms

  • kinetic energy
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