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Article: STROKING MOLECULES.(friction research and experiments)
- Article from:
- Highlights for Children
- Article date:
- February 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Highlights for Children, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Have you ever tried stroking a cat's fur from its tail toward its head? That's against the natural angle of the fur, and it feels more difficult to do. Most cats don't like the extra friction between your hand and their fur.
Friction is the force between two things that opposes their motion. Sometimes we want a lot of it--as when the brakes on your bicycle push against the wheels and slow you down. Sometimes we want very little friction, as in skating or skiing--the faster the better!
Scientists want to know all they can about friction. We are learning a little more about it in my laboratory at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, ...