Scientists have explored friction at the microscopic level. They discovered that the force generating friction is much stronger than previously thought. The discovery is an important step toward ...

Cold ions sliding across periodic energy-potential patterns formed by lasers have been used to elucidate the physics of dry friction between crystals. Experiments with no more than six ions suffice to ...

Step inside the strange world of a superfluid, a liquid that can flow endlessly without friction, defying the common-sense rules we experience every day, where water pours, syrup sticks and coffee ...

For more than 200 years, scientists have argued about a deceptively simple question: why does a sheet of frozen water let us ...

Chemists and physicists shed light on a crucial aspect of friction: how things begin to slide. Using fluorescence microscopy and dedicated fluorescent molecules, they are able to pinpoint how and when ...

The friction between a silicon ball and silicon wafer was measured in the experimental set-up shown on the left. The new research demonstrates that there is a direct relation between two effects: the ...

At a busy street crossing, people wait for the signal to change. When one person steps out first, others soon follow. Scientists in Amsterdam have found that this same kind of behavior happens at a ...

On a macroscopic scale, the physics of friction is well understood: skiers do their utmost to minimize it whereas racecar drivers hang on to it desperately during high-speed cornering. Yet, the ...