Intermolecular and Surface Forces, 3rd Edition

18 Friction and Lubrication Forces

18.1 Origin of Friction and Lubrication Forces

We tend to think of forces in terms of a force-distance law where the force acting on a body can generate motion or acceleration according to Newton’s second law, Friction and lubrication forces, however, act in a totally different way: they have no force-law and arise only as a reaction to motion or another force. Viscous and hydrodynamic forces also fall into this category. This chapter considers these types of forces, which are often referred to as nonconservation forces because they involve energy loss or dissipation or, more correctly, the transfer of energy ...