ABSTRACT

The science of friction, i.e., tribology, is possibly together with astronomy one of the oldest sciences. Human interest in astronomy has many reasons, the awe experienced when observing the dark and endless sky, the fear associated with phenomena such as eclipses, meteorites, or comets, and perhaps also practical issues such as the prediction of seasons, tides, or possible floods. The first approach to tribology is due to Leonardo da Vinci at the beginning of the 15th century. An scanning force microscope and an scanning force and friction microscope consist essentially of four main components: a tip which interacts with the sample, a force-sensing element which detects the force acting on the tip, a piezoelectric element which can move the tip and the sample relative to each other in all three directions of space, and control electronics including the data acquisition system as well as the feedback system which nowadays is usually realized with the help of a computer.