ABSTRACT
The term tribology translates literally into ‘the study of rubbing’. In modern parlance this field is held to include four phenomena: adhesion, friction, lubrication and wear. For the most part these are phenomena that occur between pairs of solid surfaces in contact with one another or separated by a thin fluid film. Adhesion describes the resistance to separation of two surfaces in contact to while friction describes their tendency to resist shearing. Lubrication is the phenomenon of friction reduction by the presence of a fluid (or solid) film between two surfaces. Finally, wear describes the irreversible damage or deformation that occurs as a result of shearing or separation.
