Static Friction as Non-Conservative WorkThe work done by static friction would seem to be obviously zero, since an object subject to static friction is required to be stationary. There is an important loophole, however, in the fact that the object is only required to be stationary with respect to the surface in order for static friction to apply. Thus, if the surface itself is moving, the object is moving as well! This loophole is relevant in problems where one object sits on another, e.g. a box on a truck bed or a block on a second block, etc. In these examples, static friction can be the sole force responsible for changing the horizontal motion of the box, the top block, etc. Thus, it must be the case that the friction can do work. Info |
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There is at least one other major loophole that allows static friction to do work. Real objects like people and cars are actually deformable (they are not perfectly modeled as rigid bodies). Thus, a person can cause their center of mass to translate without moving their feet, and a car can move forward without translating the point of contact between the tires and the ground. In this way (when viewing the person or car as a single object) the force of static friction on the person's feet or the car's tires can be made to do work. | Example Problems involving Static Friction Content by Label |
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