Probably everyone is familiar with the phenomenon: water drops cling to a pane of glass, if it is tilted out of the horizontal plane. Only when a certain angle is reached they slide off. This raises ...

Is friction dominated by electrons or by lattice vibrations? A nano-contact experiment shows that on a niobium (Nb) surface friction drops by a factor of three when crossing the superconductivity ...

Electrically tunable ionic hydrogels use small voltages to switch friction at metal contacts between high-friction and ultra-low-friction states, enabling voltage-programmed grip, release and motion ...

It has been known for more than 200 years that the maximum static friction force between two solid surfaces is usually greater than the kinetic friction force—the force that is required to maintain ...