INTRODUCTION:
In the study of Newtonian physics is it is useful to consider almost all objects which arenot within a vacuum to be subject to the force of friction; in this usage ‘friction’ refers to theoverall effect that can be approximated in terms of applied forces by various particles collidingagainst the object while they are in contact. These forces are typically used in applying resistingforces against objects in motion, as to adhere them to the surfaces that they are lateral to, or incontact with through a motion. An example of this might be air particle friction; when an objectmoves through a medium comprised of air, the particles of that air colliding against the object,creating a resisting force in the opposite direction of the motion. Because of this, the effect of terminal velocity takes place whereby an object moving with a constant force acting on it (forexample, gravity) can only attain a certain speed while in a medium of air due to the forces of air particle friction acting on it in the opposite direction.There are two main types of friction for objects that are relevant to objects that areplaced with their surfaces in contact, excluding the air particle friction force. One is staticfriction; this can be described as the friction which keeps a body that is not moving resistant toforces that could potentially put it in motion. The force needed to overcome static friction isspecific for two objects of specific material types, as well as the mass of the object with a forcebeing applied to it; when static friction is overcome the object will enter motion of some kind.While the object is in motion, there is still friction acting on it which resists it from moving withacceleration; while this force is not overcome the object will remain at a constant speed. This isknown as kinetic friction; when it is overcome the object will begin moving in non-uniformmotion, with the force affecting the acceleration being the difference between the appliedforce and the force of kinetic friction.In both cases, the force of friction can be related by a coefficient which is specific to thetwo materials in contact; this force is equal to the applied force needed to overcome each typeof friction divided by the normal force acting on the object, and it is represented by the symbolµ. For example, the coefficient of kinetic friction can be described as the force needed to beovercome in order to cause an object to move non-uniformly divided by the normal force actingon the object, or µ
K
= F
K
/F
N
. Similarly, the coefficient of static friction can be described as theforce needed to overcome inertia on a non-moving object divided by the normal force acting onthe object, or µ
S
= F
S
/F
N
. These coefficients are useful in calculating the total force on an objectagainst a surface where the materials of the surface and the object are known.
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