Probing the Complexities of Friction in Submicron Contacts Between Two Pristine Surfaces

In the 1970s, scientist discovered that friction on the nanometre scale is very different from friction on the micrometre or larger scale. Amonton/Coulomb’s law of friction does not apply at that scale. The control of friction on all length scales is important. On the macro scale, wear and tear in industries amounts to billions of dollars.