Did you hear that SCREECH?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
We’re not the only ones WORN OUT by travel. Planes, trains, and automobiles – all get HEATED when there’s too much friction. Sometimes their metal even melts to a semi-liquid state. Scary! BUT, at extremely fast speeds, the wear actually DECREASES! How?
Enter S.J. Eder from the Austrian Excellence Center for Tribology and team. They used computer simulation to recreate different metal structures, and their movement.
Results?
It’s all about the speed. Slow and fast speeds transfer a small, then high amount of heat evenly. But at airplane speeds, the metals start to not even be in contact. This makes small patches of VERY hot contact.
So, while the surfaces may melt, they cool just as fast. AND, the temporarily liquid metal may act as a lubricant. This leads to less wear and tear!
Sounds like more durable machines are not just… SCIENCE FRICTION!
Reference: Eacock, A., Rowland, H.M., van’t Hof, A.E. et al. Adaptive colour change and background choice behaviour in peppered moth caterpillars is mediated by extraocular photoreception. Commun Biol 2, 286 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-019-0502-7