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New insight into frictionless surfaces is slippery slope to energy-efficient technology
While many of us are treading carefully to avoid a slip in the frosty weather, scientists led by the University of Leicester have been investigating how to make surfaces even slippier! They have solved a conundrum in the principles of superlubricity – a state in which two surfaces experience little to almost vanishing friction when sliding across one another. They have published their conclusions in a paper for the journal Physical Review Letters.
While many of us are treading carefully to avoid a slip in the frosty weather, scientists led by the University of Leicester have been investigating how to make surfaces even slippier! Professor Brilliantov, from Leicester’s School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, said: “Such a dramatic difference with the common friction is intriguing and needs explanation. The scientists demonstrated that “synchronic” thermal fluctuations, when two surfaces bent simultaneously, remaining in a tight contact, are responsible for the friction.
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