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Re: friction (STATIC)



I am correcting the subject line. Will think about this question later.

"Promod R. Pratap" wrote:

I was always under the impression that the equation: F_st =mu_st * N only
applied when the object is about to slide. Otherwise, F_st is independent of
N. Take the case of a light box and a heavy box sitting on the floor. Now
apply the same small force to each box; this force is smaller than mu_st*N
for either box (with mu_st) being the constant evaluated just before the
boxes slide). In that case, the F_st must be the same for both boxes, and is
therefore independent of N. Of course, one can say that mu_st increases
differently for the two boxes, but that would mean the mu_st is a function of
N. In the latter case, mu_st must be proportional to 1/N when the box is
stationary.

Any comments?

Promod Pratap
On Wed, 18 Oct 2000 02:01:23 -0700 Automatic digest processor
<LISTSERV@lists.nau.edu> wrote: