The coefficient of kinetic friction is a unitless variable used to calculate the force of sliding friction in classical mechanics. It depends on material properties and the normal force on an object. The force of friction is independent of an object’s speed or size and is derived from empirical experiments.
The coefficient of kinetic friction is a unitless variable based on material properties used to calculate the force of sliding friction. It is applicable to the classical mechanics of rigid objects. Multiplying the coefficient of kinetic friction by the normal force on an object gives the force of kinetic friction. Kinetic friction, therefore, depends only on material properties and the normal force on an object.
It is important to note that the coefficient of kinetic friction is a concept from classical mechanics and part of a theory produced from experimental observations. Classical mechanics was extensively developed by the British physicist Isaac Newton and his contemporaries in the 17th century. The topic deals with the interaction of large objects moving at relatively slow speeds. In particular, the classical mechanics of rigid solids is applied to this coefficient. This sub-discipline of classical mechanics can describe the friction resulting from two solids sliding against each other and ignores the forces produced by any fluid.
Within this domain, the coefficient of kinetic friction can provide very accurate predictions. If we want to consider fluids, we need to introduce the field of fluid mechanics. If the scales involved are extremely small, quantum mechanics can address the associated complications.
The force produced by dynamic friction is equal to the product of two variables. The first is the coefficient of kinetic friction and the second is the normal force. A normal force is the force provided by the surface of an object to prevent another object from moving across it. In the case of gravity, it is the vertical force from the ground that prevents objects from falling further down. The force is always equal to the gravitational weight of an object in contact with the ground; therefore, an object can remain stationary because the gravitational force is exactly canceled by the normal force.
The formula for kinetic friction doesn’t include the speed or size of an object. This means that the force of friction on a sliding object is independent of how fast it is moving. The force of friction on a box will be the same whether it’s flowing at a mile or a kilometer per hour or two. Similarly, force does not depend on the area of an object in contact with the ground. It will be the same whether a box is flat and wide or tall and thin.
The coefficient of dynamic friction itself is an empirical property of the materials involved. That means it’s just a matter of what materials make up the two contact surfaces. Furthermore, those coefficients are derived from experiment rather than theory. The coefficient of kinetic friction is typically denoted by the Greek letter mu subscripted k.
Given identical materials, the force of kinetic friction depends only on the normal force applied to an object. In the case of gravity on the earth’s surface, the force will depend only on the mass of an object. Heavier objects have proportionally more sliding friction than lighter objects.
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