Reducing the amount of friction in a machine
increases the machine’s efficiency. Less friction means less energy lost
to heat, noise, and wearing down of material. People normally use two
methods to reduce friction. The first method involves reducing the
roughness of the surfaces in contact. For example, sanding two pieces of
wood lessens the amount of friction that occurs between them when they
slide against one another. Teflon creates very little friction because it
is so smooth.
Applying a lubricant
to a surface can also reduce friction. Common examples of lubricants are
oil and grease. They reduce friction by minimizing the contact between
rough surfaces. The lubricant’s particles slide easily against each other
and cause far less friction than would occur between the surfaces.
Lubricants such as machine oil reduce the amount of energy lost to
frictional heating and reduce the wear damage to the machine surfaces
caused by friction.
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