Intermolecular origin of friction

When two surfaces are in contact, due to the roughness of each surface, the
actual points of contact are few. There is no quantifiable relationship between the
number of such points and the area of the surfaces in contact.

If there is relative motion between the two surfaces, there is a pair of action-
reaction forces of intermolecular origin acting parallel to and along the common
surface, whose directions oppose the relative motion.
These action-reaction forces are called kinetic friction.
Kinetic frictional forces are independent of the area of the surfaces in contact.

Kinetic frictional forces are independent of the velocity of relative motion.

The magnitude of kinetic frictional forces depend on how hard the two surfaces
are pushing against each other i.e. on normal reaction (R), which is not
necessarily equal to the weight of the body as discussed under Newton's Laws of
Motion.

The normal reaction is exerted by the surface B on the body A and therefore, the
action force to which this is a reaction acts on the surface B and is exerted by the
body A. The weight of the body on the other hand is a force exerted by the earth
on the body A and its reaction is exerted by the body A and acts on the earth.
Hence the normal reaction and the weight of the body are not an action-reaction
pair. Therefore, the normal reaction R may or may not be equal to the weight of
the body on top.

where , the coefficient of kinetic friction is a constant for a particular pair of
surfaces. would change only if the surface conditions are changed such as by
sandpapering or by polishing. If normal reaction changes, then friction changes in
the same proportion, but remains unaltered.

Conservative and Dissipative forces
Certain forces remain consistent in direction regardless of the direction of motion
of the body. Such forces sometimes do positive work and sometimes negative.
When a body is displaced in a direction opposite to such a force, the work done
by the force will be negative (since cos 180
o
=-1). But if the displacement of the
body is reversed in the direction, then the force remains still in the original
direction and thus does positive work. Such forces are called conservative forces
as they conserve mechanical energy In a closed path where the body finally
returns to its original position, the net work done by a conservative force is zero.
For example, the weight of a body is a conservative force:


The kinetic frictional force changes direction so as to oppose relative motion. It
never helps the motion. Hence work done by this force is always negative since
force and displacement are always oppositely directed. The body loses
mechanical energy by this amount of work done and this energy is converted into
heat or sound energy which dissipates (spreads) into the surroundings. Hence
kinetic friction is said to be a dissipative force.

Let there be an external force F acting on a body of mass m moving initially with
a horizontal velocity u in addition to a frictional force f opposing its motion on a
horizontal surface, then there is a net force (F-f) giving rise to an acceleration.

Therefore, the body accelerates at the rate

Thus the heat energy produced plus the gain in kinetic energy is equal to the
work done by the external force.
If there was no kinetic friction acting on the body then the work done by the
external force would have been equal to the gain in the kinetic energy of the
body.
If there is no external force acting on a moving body, apart from kinetic friction,
then the velocity of the body is reduced by the frictional force. Thus the reduction
in kinetic energy is equal to the rise in the heat energy produced by the frictional
force.
The above statements are all based on the work-energy theorem which states
that the net work done on a body is equal to the gain of kinetic energy of the
body.

Static Friction
When an external force F is applied to one of two bodies in contact, even if there
is no relative motion between the bodies an action reaction pair of frictional
forces begin to act along and parallel to the common surface. The direction of
each force opposes the tendency of relative motion. These are forces of static
friction.

Note that relative to the body A, the body B tends to move to the left. Hence the
frictional force on this body opposes this tendency of motion as it acts towards
the right.
Unlike kinetic friction, static friction is a variable force. If the external force F is
removed static friction ceases to act If the external force F is increased static
friction also increases so that the body A continues to be at rest under balanced
forces (F=f). There is however a maximum limit beyond which the force of static
friction between the two bodies cannot increase. This maximum limit is called
limiting friction. Only if the external force F exceeds the limiting friction, the body
A begins to slide on the surface B and the frictional force now opposing motion is
kinetic friction which is slightly lower than the limiting value of static friction.

Limiting friction is independent of the surface area.


Limiting fricition is directly proportional to normal reaction.

where is the coefficient of static friction.
The coefficient of static friction depends only on the nature ofr the two surfaces in
contact. It is a constant with respect to changes in normal reaction.
Thus, for a particular pair of surfaces under a constant value of normal reaction,
the kinetic frictional force would always be the same. But under the same
conditions the static frictional forces could be any value between zero and a
maximumvalue It is this maximumvalue that would always remain the same
under the given conditions.
Note that in the case of static friction acting between two surfaces, there is no
relative displacement. Hence no work is done against this frictional force. Static
friction is therefore not dissipative.
Static friction is helpful in many ways.
~Static friction prevents a glass from slipping out of our hand.

~Static friction prevents objects from sliding off tables even if the tables are not
absolutely horizontal.
~Static friction helps vehicles move.

~Static friction helps us walk.

f1 =static friction exerted by foot on ground
f2 =static friction exerted by ground on foot
These are an action-reaction pair
R1 =normal force exerted by foot on ground
R2 =normal force exerted by ground on foot
These are an action-reaction pair
f1 and R1 act on the ground
f2 and R2 act on the foot
The horizontal force f2 of static friction propels the person forward.
Walking on sand or gravel is more strenuous because at each step the particles
slide over each other under the force f1 causing the foot to slip. This
displacement against the force of kinetic friction causes production of heat. Thus
extra work has to be done by the person trying to walk on sand.
Walking on slippery surfaces such as ice or slush is difficult as the coefficient of
static friction is low. For a given normal reaction R2 the maximum force of static
friction is therefore small. If the person tries to push the ground backward with
too great a force then his foot slips backwards over the ground. In order to
minimize the risk of falling he has to take small steps so that the backward force
he exerts on the ground is small enough to be less than limiting friction.


Cone of Friction
For a given normal reaction between a pair of surfaces, static friction can have
any value lying between zero and limiting friction. Thus the resultant ground
reaction can make an angle with the normal such that

Thus all possible resultant reactions must lie within a cone with its apex at P and
of semi vertical angle given by =tan-1



Pulling and Pushing:
Let the body A be pushed with an oblique force F. The downward comnponent of
F pushes the body harder on the surface thus increasing normal reaction. Hence
more work has to be donw in displacing the body against a greater force of
kinetic friction.

Let the body be pulled with an oblique force F. The vertical component of F is
now upward. The weight of the body is counterbalanced by this upward
component along with a reduced normal reaction. The kinetic frictional force is
therefore lower and less work has to be done in displacing the body against this
force.


Inclined planes
When a body is placed on an inclined plane the forces acting on it are its weight
and thenormal reaction of the plane. Since the weight has a component
downwards along the plane there is a tendency of motion down the plane and
therefore a frictional force acts upwards along the plane. The normal reaction
between the body and the plane is equal to the resolved part of the weight
perpendicular to the plane.

R =mg cos ........................................(i)
Case I
If mgsin is greater than limiting friction then the body accelerates down the
plane.
mgsin - f =ma
mgsin -
k
R =ma
mgsin -
k
mg cos =ma
Case II
If mgsin is less than limiting friction then the body rests in place.
mgsin =f '
where f ' is less than limiting friction.
Case III
If mgsin is equal to limiting friction f, then the body is on the verge of sliding
down the plane. This condition is called limiting equilibrium.
mgsin =f
mg cos =R
Therefore,
tan =f/R
tan =
s

If the body is in limiting equilibrium under the combined action of its weight and the frictional and
normal forces exerted by the plane, only then is tan =
s
. If an additional external force has to
be applied over and above these forces to keep the body in limiting equilibrium then
s
is not
equal to tan .

Friction can act downwards along the plane
The frictional force as given by
f = R
necessarily acts along the plane. However it does not necessarily act upwards
along the plane. It acts downwards only in the case of the body actually moving
downwards along the plane, or being about to move down the plane. In the event
the motion or tendency of motion is upwards along the plane, the force of friction
would act downwards along the plane.

Work Done
A movement of the body of mass m along the inclined plane involves work done
by several forces. Of these, the work done against friction is converted into
dissipative forms of energy. The work done by (or against) the weight, causes a
change in the gravitational potential energy (mgh) of the body.

If L is the displacement upwards along the inclined plane, then the work-energy
theorem yields:

In the above equation, (Lf) represents energy dissipated. Lmgsin represents
gain in gravitational potential energy. The excess of LF over the sum of these two
forms of energy produced, is converted into kinetic energy.
It should be noted that the change in gravitational potential energy is given by
L mgsin =mg x L sin
But, sin =h/l
Hence, L =h/sin
Therefore, L mgsin =mg x h
[NOTE: The work done against the gravitational force would be the same for a
straight vertical rise h instead of a length l along the plane.]
Thus the work done by the weight is the same (independent of the path taken)
whether the body moves directly upwards from A to B through a height h, or
takes the path ACB as shown in the figure below.