Is friction actually a necessity? Why do we need to increase it? Aren’t you tired of all the friction around you? Do you need even more? Actually, friction is a necessary evil. In some cases, we might want to reduce friction, but in others, we need to increase friction. In this article, we look at 4 ways by which we can increase friction and look at their real-life applications.
Higher friction may be required in applications for resisting motion or for adhesive kinds of applications. For example, in real-life applications like brake pads, sticky pads, adventure vehicle tires, etc. we need to increase the friction for better efficiency. Friction can be increased by various methods like texturing, pressure, sliding, etc.
How to increase friction
- Increase the irregularities between the two surfaces
- Increase the normal forces between the surfaces
- Remove any kind of lubrication
- Convert rolling friction to sliding friction
Increase the irregularities between the two surfaces
We need to increase the irregularity in the surfaces in order to achieve high friction.
This can be achieved by texturing surfaces with designs or etching the surface using harsh chemicals. The fine fingerprints in our fingers increase friction and enable us to hold on to objects
Increase the normal forces between the surfaces
Normal force(force in the direction perpendicular to the sliding surface) will result in the surface coming closer together and hence the interlocking of the irregularities in the surface becomes stronger and hence friction is increased in the process.
We can increase this normal force by 1. mechanical application of a normal force 2. magnetic force 3. electrostatic attraction by charges on both surfaces with opposite charges.
Remove any kind of lubrication
Sometimes when we sweat, it is very difficult to hold anything, things slip off our hands this is because our sweat works as a lubricant here and reduces friction between our hands and the surface. You can wipe the sweat off to increase friction.
A Weight lifter uses gym powder (magnesium carbonate) to remove sweat and increase grip.
Convert rolling friction to sliding friction
Removing wheels is the best option to increase friction in the surface where rolling friction is involved. Sliding friction is always greater than rolling friction.
Imagine this:
How can we increase friction between vehicles and the road in hilly areas?
In a hilly area, friction becomes a very important factor. The higher the friction the better will be the grip of the vehicle on the road. We can increase the friction in such cases by having tires that have more textures on them specifically built for such roads. Sometimes chains are used to increase friction, especially in snowy terrains.
Quiz on how to increase friction
See Also
- What is a frictional force?
- Factors affecting friction
- Applications of friction
- How can we decrease friction? What are the ways of doing it?
- Quiz on friction
- What is rolling friction?
- What is fluid friction?
- What is static friction?
- 50 Examples of friction in our daily lives
- Friction is a necessary evil
