Tribology

Tribology is the study of how things rub against each other. It sounds kind of silly but it helps us understand how machines work. It looks at the three things that happen when two surfaces rub against each other: friction, heat and wear. Friction is how much energy is needed to make two surfaces rub together and how much energy is lost when they do. Heat is the energy generated from rubbing two materials together. Wear is how the surfaces wear away from each other over time. Tribology helps us understand how machines work and how they will last over time.