ИСТИНА

In this contribution, we combine theory and basic modeling to address the origin of frictional energy dissipation in dry, unlubricated contacts. Our question is simple: how can this dissipation be so effective? Our calculations demonstrate that the natural mechanism of dissipation is the destructive interference between the phonons that are excited by sliding motion. In the case of stick-slip motion, the energy loss in each microscopic slip event between the sliding bodies readily follows from the dephasing of phonons that are generated in the slip process. The dephasing mechanism directly links the typical timescales of the lattice vibrations with those of the experienced energy ‘dissipation’ and manifests itself as if the slip-induced motion were close to critically damped. With this, we introduce a new look on sliding friction that may lead to new strategies to manipulate it.