Published Paper Details:

Abstract: Friction occurring between the surfaces of two objects in contact, under the action of force parallel to surfaces in contact is known as static friction. Kinetic friction occurs between objects in contact, one moving with respect to the other. Several experiments have been conducted and theories have been put forth in order to explain the phenomenon of friction. Most famous laws of friction tell us that the frictional force only depends on mass of the object and nature of surface but not on the surface area in contact. There are some theories which give the dependence of surface area in contact on the load for cylindrical surfaces. Thus this dependence of frictional force on surface area is linked to and leads to dependence on mass. In the present work dependence of static frictional force on the surface area of the object in contact is investigated, separate from its dependence on mass. Experiments are performed on five series of wooden blocks comprising of total 35 blocks and two series of Perspex blocks comprising of 12 blocks. The results show that static frictional force is directly proportional to load. In addition results show that static frictional force is linearly dependent on surface area in contact. This dependence on surface area in contact is not linked to dependence on mass but is separate from dependence on mass. Accordingly, modified laws of friction are proposed.