I learned to respect friction, as a phenomenon with many nuances, when I was a graduate student. One day, while teaching a problem session in elementary mechanics, I unwisely invented a new problem to ...

Most people have experienced the hair-raising effect of rubbing a balloon on their head or the subtle spark caused by dragging socked feet across the carpet. Although these experiences are common, a ...

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Most people have experienced the hair-raising effect of rubbing a balloon on their head or the subtle spark caused by dragging socked feet across the carpet. Although these ...

Scientists developed a new model, which shows that rubbing two objects together produces static electricity, or triboelectricity, by bending the tiny protrusions on the surface of materials. Most ...