What are Advantages and dis-advantages of friction?

Answer 1

Advantages of Friction

In some situations, friction is very important and beneficial. There are many things that you could not do without the force of friction.

• Walking: You could not walk without the friction between your shoes and the ground. As you try to step forward, you push your foot backward. Friction holds your shoe to the ground, allowing you to walk.
• Writing: Writing with a pencil requires friction. You could not hold a pencil in your hand without friction. It would slip out when you tried to hold it to write. A pencil eraser uses friction to rub off mistakes written in pencil lead. Rubbing the eraser on the lead wears out the eraser due to friction, while the particles worn off gather up the pencil lead from the paper.

• Driving car: Your car would not start moving if it wasn't for the friction of the tires against the street. With no friction, the tires would just spin. Likewise, you could not stop without the friction of the brakes and the tires.
• Friction Pen: Inventors have invented useful items like the friction pen/highlighter. You are able to erase the pen/highlighter mark. The problem is that the rubber at the back gets dirty easily.
• There wouldn't be a Universe without friction.

Disadvantages of Friction

Friction can cause problems or be a nuisance that you try to minimize.

• Makes movement difficult: Any time you want to move an object, friction can make the job more difficult. Excess friction can make it difficult to slide a box across the floor, ride a bicycle or walk through deep snow. An automobile would not move forward very well unless its friction was not reduced. Oil is needed to lubricate the engine and allow its parts to move easily. Oil and ball bearings are also used in the wheels, so they will turn with little friction.
• Wastes energy: In any type of vehicles as a car, boat or airplane--excess friction means that extra fuel must be used to power the vehicle. In other words, fuel or energy is being wasted because of the friction. Fluid friction or air resistance can greatly reduce the gas mileage in an automobile.
• Heats parts: The Law of Conservation of Energy states that the amount of energy remains constant. Thus, the energy that is "lost" to friction in trying to move an object is really turned to heat energy. You've seen how people will try to start a fire by vigorously rubbing two sticks together. Or perhaps you've seen an automobile spin its wheels so much that the tires start to smoke. These are examples of friction creating heat energy. Just rub your hands together to create the same effect. Besides the problem of losing energy to heat, there is also the threat of a part overheating due to friction. This can cause damage to a machine.
• Wears things out: Any device that has moving parts can wear out rapidly due to friction. Lubrication is used not only to allow parts to move easier but also to prevent them from wearing out. Some other examples of materials wearing out due to friction include the soles of your shoes and a pencil eraser.
• Carpet burn is because of friction.

Compromise

A compromise is needed between too much friction and not enough.

For example, if you wanted to slide a heavy box across the floor, you would want to reduce the friction between the box and the floor, so that it would be easy to move. Lubrication of some sort is often a way to reduce friction.

Friction is necessary in many applications to prevent slipping or sliding. But also, it can be a nuisance because it can hinder motion. A good compromise is necessary to get just enough friction or a proper combination of frictions

Answer 2

list two examples where friction is useful and another two where it is harmful and why