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 ...

Analyze an uphill skier problem using work, energy, and power principles. See how gravitational potential energy, applied force, and friction determine the required work and power, and learn how speed ...

Friction is an intrinsic physical phenomenon to curling. Without it, objects in motion would move endlessly, without slowing down. This would cause many safety-related problems: Cars or trains could ...

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 ...

Here’s the rub with friction — scientists don’t really know how it works. Although humans have been harnessing its power since rubbing two sticks together to build the first fire, the physics of ...

Physics and Python stuff. Most of the videos here are either adapted from class lectures or solving physics problems. I really like to use numerical calculations without all the fancy programming ...

In "Friction," tribologist Jennifer Vail shows how the fundamental force that resists motion keeps driving us forward.

Humans have been making fire using friction for thousands of years, with evidence of its use found in archaeological records across different cultures worldwide. Fire by friction is a testament to ...

A simple snap of the fingers boasts some complex physics. The arm loads up energy and then releases it explosively, so that the middle finger hits the palm with a sharp smack. A team has now shown how ...

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 ...