Consider two bodies which are interacting by virtue of their surfaces sliding
across each other. Examples of this might be an athlete's shoe sliding across
a gym floor or brake pads pushing against a brake drum in an automoblie. The
force that resists these bodies from sliding is
friction. The magnitude at which friction resists the sliding is
proportional to the force pressing the two bodies together.
The proportionality constants are called the coefficients of friction. There
are two: one coefficient of friction models the system when the objects are
sliding and one for when they are not. Combinations of materials all have t
their own coefficients of friction. Can these coefficients be determined?
