A world without friction would certainly be... Interesting. Friction is essentially the force which resists motion when two surfaces come into contact with one another. Thus, without this friction force, the normal pastimes which make up our everyday lives would be impossible. Consider the following scenarios which would occur in a frictionless existence;
- Without friction, you would be unable to stand up. Friction is the force which allows our shoes to stay in one place. Imagine, for instance, standing on a highly polished surface or ice rink in a pair of socks. This is an example of a low friction scenario, you will quickly notice how easy it is to slip and fall over. With no friction whatsoever, it would be impossible to stay on your feet. In fact, it would be impossible to stay in one place whatsoever as there would be no force to bring you to a halt. In essence, no moving object would be able to gain traction on the ground.
- Similarly, you would be unable to pick anything up as to grip or hold anything requires friction. The scenario would be similar to trying to grasp soap with lathered hands whilst in the bath or shower, only with every single object and much worse!
- On a grander scale, geological concepts such as plate tectonics and continental drift would simply cease to exist; thus, there would be no earthquakes, tsunamis and suchlike. Whilst this sounds favorable, the ensuing chaos as a result of a frictionless world is likely to be much less pleasant!