Friction is immensely important to us – without it, for example, we could not walk or even crawl – yet it is only 50 years since a special word – 'tribology' – was first coined to describe its study.

Earlier, we saw that the work done by friction on a particle sliding on a rough surface is negative, causing a loss in total mechanical energy as the particle slides. Here, we will address the ...

One type of friction can waste energy even when two perfectly smooth surfaces move against each other, but researchers are getting a handle on how to attenuate or stop it completely ...