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. How does the friction affected by the nature of surface? |
Rougher surfaces experience more friction than smoother ones. Two pieces of coarse sandpaper will obviously be harder to move relative to each other than two pieces of fine sandpaper. But if two pieces of flat metal are made progressively smoother, you will reach a point where the resistance to relative movement increases. If you make them very flat and smooth, and remove all surface contaminants in a vacuum, the smooth flat surfaces will actually adhere to each other, making what is called a "cold weld". Once you reach a certain degree of mechanical smoothness, the frictional resistance is found to depend on the nature of the molecular forces in the area of contact, so that substances of comparable "smoothness" can have significantly different coefficients of friction. |