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The physics of atomic‐scale friction: Basic considerations and open questions (Phys. Status Solidi B 4/2014)
Author(s) -
Krylov Sergey Yu.,
Frenken Joost W. M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
physica status solidi (b)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1521-3951
pISSN - 0370-1972
DOI - 10.1002/pssb.201470122
Subject(s) - nanotribology , lubricity , atomic units , tribology , impulse (physics) , scale (ratio) , field (mathematics) , dissipation , atomic force microscopy , dry friction , nanotechnology , physics , mechanical engineering , engineering physics , engineering , classical mechanics , materials science , quantum mechanics , mathematics , pure mathematics , composite material
Friction is usually associated with its obvious practical importance. This tends to emphasize the engineering aspects of friction and thereby hides the fact that there is a wealth of interesting physics involved, part of which cannot be regarded as fully understood at present. New techniques, such as friction force microscopy, have started to provide access to the phenomenon of friction on the atomic scale. This has given a strong impulse to the field of tribology, pushing it significantly beyond the engineering level and into the regime of the fundamental aspects of frictional energy dissipation. The Review Article by Krylov and Frenken (pp. 711–736 ) highlights the atomic‐scale physics of friction, in particular in this relatively young and rapidly developing field of nanotribology. In this review, the authors concentrate on the specific case of dry, unlubricated contacts and they pay special attention to several non‐trivial phenomena, such as superlubricity or orientational lubricity and thermolubricty , that can make such contacts super‐slippery.