Friction torque

Friction torque is the torque caused by the frictional force that occurs when two objects in contact move. Like all torques, it is a rotational force which may be measured in newton metres or pounds-feet.

This image displays an example situation where there is an active frictional torque. The large black vector arrow represents the primary force acting on the bar (the thick black line), causing it to rotate around the gray dot at its opposite end which represents an axle. The large red vector arrow represents the torque caused by the primary force. The small black vector arrow represents the frictional force caused by the bar sliding across the second bar (grey).

Engineering

Friction torque can be disruptive in engineering. There are a variety of measures engineers may choose to take to eliminate these disruptions. Ball bearings are an example of an attempt to minimize the friction torque.

Friction torque can also be an asset in engineering. Bolts and nuts, or screws are often designed to be fastened with a given amount of torque, where the friction is adequate during use or operation for the bolt, nut or screw to remain safely fastened. This is true with such applications as lug nuts retaining wheels to vehicles, or equipment subjected to vibration with sufficiently well attached bolts, nuts or screws to prevent the vibration from shaking them loose.

Examples
  • When a cyclist applies the brake to his/her forward wheel, the bike tips forwards due to the frictional torque between the wheel and the ground.
  • When a golf ball hits the ground it begins to spin in part because of the friction torque applied to the golf ball from the friction between the golf ball and the ground.
gollark: I think you're confusing a bunch of things right now. Or possibly just two things, many worlds and extra spatial dimensions.
gollark: "We"?
gollark: ???
gollark: Things which extend into those instead of just having a constant fixed position in said new spatial dimension are also not going to somehow stop being subject to time, unless the laws of physics privilege it somehow, which would be really weird.
gollark: For one thing, if you add extra spatial dimensions to our universe on top of the existing 3, it isn't suddenly going to gain multiverses or something; ignoring all the complex physics things I'm not aware of which are probably sensitive to this, it will just be another direction in which you can move, perpendicular to the other 3.

See also
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