ABSTRACT
Significant effort has been expended on the study of fine particle interactions, largely due to their importance in technological processes ranging from mineral flotation to photocopying. In most of these processes the particles make contact with dissimilar surfaces, hence, the magnitude of the adhesion or, most importantly, the ease of their removal becomes of considerable practical interest. As the adhesion is controlled by processes that occur within the contact area, both the contact mechanics and the interfacial properties must be given consideration. Given the small size of the particles and the magnitude of the forces involved, highly specific techniques are required to study the adhesion directly.
