Frictional forces

Friction is a force that stops things from moving easily.

Whenever an object moves or rubs against another object, it
feels frictional forces. These forces act in the opposite direction to the
movement. Friction makes it harder for things to move.
In the illustration below, the smooth base of the snoblades slides smoothly on
the snow. The boy on the grass is having difficulty sliding, because the grass is
not smooth and his shoes are getting stuck in the grass. There is more friction
between the shoes and the grass than the snow and the snowblades.

Have you ever noticed that it's harder to get a shopping cart moving than it is to keep it
moving? If you try to push your couch across the room, the first push is the hardest part.
Maybe people assume that's nothing more than psychological, but there really is a physics
reason for it. The reason is static friction.
Friction, in general, is a force that makes it harder for two objects to slide alongside one
another. Static friction is the friction that exists between a stationary object and the surface
on which it's resting.

A frictional force occurs when you try to push an

object alongside a surface

Once the objects have already started moving, kinetic friction takes over. This is the
friction that exists between two objects moving relative to each other. Kinetic friction isn't as
strong as static friction, and so it is easier to keep the shopping cart moving.

Static Friction
when a force is applied to an object but it does not
cause it to move
example: pushing on a wall

Fluid Friction
occurs when a object moves through a fluid, meaning
either a liquid or gas
examples: skydiving, swimming

Sliding Friction
occurs when solid surfaces slide over each other
example:falling on the pavement

Rolling Friction
occurs when an object rolls over another (something
with wheels or that is circular like a ball)
example: riding a motorcycle
There are four types of friction namely
Static friction
Kinetic friction
Rolling friction
Fluid friction
Static Friction
Static friction comes into play when a body is forced to move along a surface but movement
does not start. The magnitude of static friction remains equal to the applied external force and
the direction is always opposite to the direction of motion. The magnitude of static friction
depends upon s (coefficient of static friction) and N (net normal reaction of the body).
Kinetic Friction
Kinetic friction denoted as k comes into play when a body just starts moving along a surface.
When external applied force is sufficient to move a body along a surface then the force which

opposes this motion is called as kinetic frictional force.

Magnitude of kinetic frictional force fk = k N
Where k is coefficient of kinetic frictional force and N is the net normal reaction on the body.
The magnitude of kinetic frictional force is always less than magnitude of static frictional force.
When value of applied net external force F is more than fk then body moves with a net
acceleration and when these forces are equal then body moves with a constant velocity.
Rolling Friction
Rolling frictional force is a force that slows down the motion of a rolling object. Basically it is a
combination of various types of frictional forces at point of contact of wheel and ground or
surface.When a hard object moves along a hard surface then static and molecular friction force
retards its motion. When soft object moves over a hard surface then its distortion makes it slow
down.
Fluid Friction
When a body moves in a fluid or in air then there exists a resistive force which slows down the
motion of the body, known as fluid frictional force. A freely falling skydiver feels a drag force due
to air which acts in the upward direction or in a direction opposite to skydivers motion. The
magnitude of this drag force increases with increment in the downward velocity of skydiver. At a
particular point of time the value of this drag force becomes equal to the driving force and
skydiver falls with a constant velocity.

Standard friction equation

When a force is applied to an object, the resistive force of friction acts in the
opposite direction, parallel to the surfaces.
The standard equation for determining the resistive force of friction when
trying to slide two solid objects together states that the force of friction
equals the coefficient friction times the normal force pushing the two objects
together. This equation is written as
Fr = N
where:

Fr is the resistive force of friction

is the coefficient of friction for the two surfaces (Greek letter "mu")

N is the normal or perpendicular force pushing the two objects together

N is times N

Frand N are measured in units of force, which are pounds or newtons. is a

number between 0 (zero) and (infinity).
Factors Affecting Friction
Friction depends partly on the smoothness of the contacting surfaces, a greater force being
needed to move two surfaces past one another if they are rough than if they are smooth.
However, friction decreases with smoothness only to a degree; friction actually increases
between two extremely smooth surfaces because of increased attractive electrostatic forces
between their atoms. Friction does not depend on the amount of surface area in contact
between the moving bodies or (within certain limits) on the relative speed of the bodies. It does,
however, depend on the magnitude of the forces holding the bodies together. When a body is
moving over a horizontal surface, it presses down against the surface with a force equal to its
weight, i.e., to the pull of gravity upon it; an increase in the weight of the body causes an
increase in the amount of resistance offered to the relative motion of the surfaces in contact.

ADVANTAGES OF FRICTION
Friction plays a vital role in our daily life. Without friction we are
handicap.
1. It is becomes difficult to walk on a slippery road due to low friction.
When we move on ice, it
becomes difficult to walk due to low friction of
ice.
2. We can not fix nail in the wood or wall if there is no friction. It is
friction which holds the nail.
3. A horse can not pull a cart unless friction furnishes him a secure
Foothold.
DISADVANTAGES OF FRICTION
Despite the fact that the friction is very important in our daily life, it also
has some disadvantages like:
1. The main disadvantage of friction is that it produces heat in various
parts of machines. In this way
some useful energy is wasted as heat
energy.
2. Due to friction we have to exert more power in machines.
3. It opposes the motion.
4. Due to friction, noise is also produced in machines.
5. Due to friction, engines of automobiles consume more fuel which is a
money loss.
METHODS OF REDUCING FRICTION
There are a number of methods to reduce friction in which some are
discussed here.
USE OF LUBRICANTS:
The parts of machines which are moving over one another must be
properly lubricated by using oils and lubricants of suitable viscosity.
USE OF GREASE:
Proper greasing between the sliding parts of machine reduces the friction.
USE OF BALL BEARING:

In machines where possible, sliding friction can be replaced by rolling

friction by using ball bearings.
DESIGN MODIFICATION:
Friction can be reduced by changing the design of fast moving objects.
The front of vehicles and airplanes made oblong to minimize friction.

What effect does friction force have on motion?

a. It opposes the motion of all objects.
b. It counteracts the acceleration of an object
c. It prevents surfaces from sliding against each other.
d. It causes objects to accelerate.

Method of decreasing and increasing friction

Method of decreasing friction:

By polishing: Friction between two surfaces can be reduced by polishing them. The
interlocking and projections are minimized by this method.

Ball-bearing: As the rolling friction less than the sliding friction consequently in
rotating machinery, the shafts are fixed on the ball bearing so that the friction can be
reduced considerably. For example-the free wheel of a cycle, the axle of a motorcar,
the shafts of the motor dynmo etc. are provided with ball-bearing.

Lubricants: Friction between two surfaces can be decreased by using lubricants. A

lubricant is a substance (a solid or a liquid) which forms a thin layer between the two
surfaces in contact. It also fills the depressions present in the surfaces of contact
and reduces friction considerably. In light machinery thin oils with low viscosity are
used, in heavy and fast moving machinery thick oils and solutes (grease) are used.

Streamline: The friction due to air is reduced by making the automobiles streamline.

Methods of increasing friction:

By making the surface rough friction can be increased. Examples of increasing friction-the
tyres of a motor car and bicycles are made rough to increase the friction .when a ground or
surface become slippery after rain or water splashing it is made rough by spreading sand to
increase the friction.