E143 -- Sur le frottement des corps solides

(On the friction of solid bodies)

Summary:

In this paper, Euler inquires into the nature of the force of friction. He proposes a model for understanding friction in terms of gravity, and deduces from this model that kinetic friction should be less than static friction. Euler then proposes an experiment for determining the quantity of kinetic friction using an object descending an inclined plane, and provides the formulas necessary to solve for friction given the specifications of the object's descent along the plane. He also illustrates that, as in implication of kinetic friction being less than static friction, it is impossible to make an object descend a plane infinitely slowly.

According to C. G. J. Jacobi, a treatise with the title: “Sur la friction des corps solides” was presented to the Berlin Academy on June 4, 1748.

Publication:

Originally published in Memoires de l'academie des sciences de Berlin 4, 1750, pp. 122-132
Opera Omnia: Series 2, Volume 8, pp. 54 - 63
According to Jacobi, the manuscript of the printed treatise, which has “friction” instead of “frottement” in the title, can be found in the archive of the Berlin Academy.

Documents Available:

Original publication: E143
E143 can be viewed or downloaded from Digitalisierte Akademieschriften und Schriften zur Geschichte der Königlich Preußischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, which includes serial publications of the Prussian Academy of Science in the 18th and 19th Centuries.
English translation (Natalia Jenuwine): E143

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