Imagine a heavy book resting on a table. If you try to gently push the book across the table with the tip of your finger, it may first appear to remain motionless—it needs a lot more force to start ...

Skoltech researchers have explained why very weak friction obeys different laws than those governing regular friction as we know it from school physics. Among other unexpected and counterintuitive ...

In a tiny notebook owned by legendary inventor and scientist Leonardo da Vinci, notes previously dismissed as "irrelevant" have turned up a new discovery: da Vinci had a sophisticated understanding of ...

Chemists and engineers have discovered a fundamental friction law that is leading to a deeper understanding of energy dissipation in friction and the design of two-dimensional materials capable of ...

How it works Schematic of two magnetic layers composed of permanent magnets. The magnets in the upper layer are free to rotate, while those in the lower layer are fixed. When the layers move relative ...

Schematic of two magnetic layers composed of permanent magnets. The magnets in the upper layer are free to rotate, while those in the lower layer are fixed. When the layers move relative to each other ...

Frictional experiment: artist’s impression of the metainterface between a rigid piece of glass (top) and a metasurface (bottom). The textured regions are where the glass and metasurface are in contact ...

Friction is an everyday phenomenon; it allows drivers to stop their cars by breaking and dancers to execute complicated moves on various floor surfaces. It can, however, also be an unwanted effect ...

Researchers found friction can arise without contact, driven by magnetic dynamics, and doesn't always increase with load but peaks when magnetic ordering becomes frustrated. (Nanowerk News) ...