Skip to main content

FRICTION - A NECESSARY EVIL

    


    Friction is an important phenomenon in our day-today life.  When you ignite a match stick, friction comes into play.


     When there is a relative motion between two bodies, friction arises.  That is, when one body moves over the other, frictional 
force develops.  Because of adhesive force between the contacting  surfaces, friction develops.  Friction is proportional to the weight of the body that is moving and it is an opposing force.  It always acts opposite to the motion of the body.  That is , if you pull a,heavy table right side, friction will oppose the motion and act towards left side.  If you push the table left side, friction will shift towards right side.

     Assume , a heavy iron safe is sitting on a rough floor.  The object weight acts on the floor, and the floor gives equal reaction on the iron safe.  Hence both the forces cancel each other.  Then, why cannot we move the safe easily.  It is only due to the opposing friction.




     Rolling friction is always less than the sliding friction.  So, small wheels are always attached to the mobile chairs, tables, boxes, beds etc.  The heavy and very long train moves swiftly on the iron track because the friction is greatly reduced (1. rolling friction  2. smoothness of iron wheels and the track).  Even if a child pushes a loose carriage standing on the rail track, it will roll to a long distance.

    Is there only negative attributes for friction? No.
  
     We are able to walk on the road and on the floor with out slipping only due to friction.

  We are able to control the vehicles because of road friction.  The brake system works mainly because of the friction process.  If there is no friction in the 'U' bend of the road, we cannot negotiate the curve on a two-wheeler and we will only skid off and fall down.

     For all machines (fan, engine) to work smoothly without using much energy, the friction should be greatly reduced.  That is why, ball-bearing and lubricant oil industries thrive.

     Recently, a new ink has been made.  It can be erased by rubbing (friction).  So be careful when some one signs a document even with a ink pen.

     So let there be friction and No friction.

Comments

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks! Check out this cool comic on "Friction as a necessaary evil" https://dewwool.com/friction-is-a-necessary-evil-explain/

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Your heart -you do not know

  Size and Location: The human heart is roughly the size of a clenched fist and is located slightly to the left of the center of the chest. Despite its relatively small size, the heart plays a crucial role in pumping blood throughout the entire body. Heartbeat Variability: The heart does not beat at a constant rate. The interval between heartbeats can vary, and this variability is considered a sign of a healthy heart. Factors such as breathing, emotions, and physical activity influence the heartbeat. Electrical Conduction: The heart's contractions are controlled by electrical impulses. The sinoatrial (SA) node, often called the "natural pacemaker," generates electrical signals that regulate the heartbeat and coordinate the pumping of blood. Blood Pumping Capacity: On average, the human heart pumps about 2,000 gallons (or 7,570 liters) of blood each day. Over a lifetime, this amounts to pumping enough blood to fill several Olympic-sized swimming pools. Heart Chambers and V...

THE WORK HORSE "="

    One cannot think of  a mathematical step without 'is equal to ' .  It balances right hand side and left hand side.  It aids simplification and manipulation of a mathematical expression. example: 2(A+B)  = C 2A+2B  = C         2A = C-2B           A = C-2B/ 2   In an electronic calculator,  the pressing of ' = " sign executes an asthmatic expression  or simply calculates.       In computer languages, it plays very important role.                                                                 A = B   When a computer looks at this expression, the value stored in the location named B is just transferred to the storage named A .  After execution both A and B will have the same value an...

THE EARTH, A SUPER ORGANISM

     JOIN MY COURSE: "Become a programmer in a day with python"       A man called 'love lock' (what a name) proposed a theory called Gaia theory, named after Greek Goddess.      It says, "Earth is a self-regulating organism like a human being.  The organic life in it interacts with in-organic matter and maintains atmosphere, temperature and environment".  Hence the earth is still suitable for the life to thrive.      Imagine, in a particular place, there are lot of flowers.  Some flowers are white and some are darkly coloured.  We know, white reflects light and heat while dark absorbs the same.  White flowers can thrive in hot climate.  But dark flowers requires cold climate.  The absorption and reflection balances and the environment reaches average, warm temperature at which both the flowers can co-exist.  This is the essence of "Gaia" theory.      On our earth, ...