Sometimes you think you have a complete understanding of something and then BOOM—a simple problem throws everything out the window. Let's consider a very basic physics problem involving pushing a ...

In this video, we break down the concept of the coefficient of friction in AP Physics 1, explaining how static and kinetic friction work and how they affect motion. Clear examples and reasoning help ...

In this video, we explain the capstan equation and how friction affects a rope or string wrapped around a surface. You’ll learn where the equation comes from, what each term means, and how it’s ...

I learned to respect friction, as a phenomenon with many nuances, when I was a graduate student. One day, while teaching a problem session in elementary mechanics, I unwisely invented a new problem to ...

One of the dirty little secrets of physics is that there is no generally accepted explanation of the basic laws of friction. An advance in the theory of cracks will stimulate fresh thinking on the ...

Is friction real? Once, with the quiet certainty of someone who just stayed up all night in the company of equations describing concrete, my college roommate told me that friction was made up. Now, ...

From free body diagrams to energy methods, a structured approach to Mechanics can turn one of JEE’s toughest sections into a ...

Nanomachines will depend on our knowledge of friction, heat transfer and energy dissipation at the atomic level for their very survival. In the scramble to revolutionize the world with nanotechnology ...