Sliding friction. Physical principles and applications. (Q1572659)

[For the first ed., see the author, Sliding friction. Physical principles and applications. NanoScience and Technology. Berlin: Springer ix (1997; Zbl 0895.73001).] This comprehensive and well-written book is entirely devoted to fundamental aspects of friction, and especially to new theoretical and technological problems of sliding friction. The book consists of fifteen chapters with the following content: in the first part (chapters 1-7), a broad overview of sliding friction is presented. The second part (chapter 8) contains a detailed discussion of the sliding of absorbate layers on surfaces, which is of fundamental importance for many applications, e.g. boundary lubrication and boundary conditions at a solid-fluid interface. Chapters 9-13 are devoted to boundary lubrication and dry friction dynamics. Finally, chapters 14 and 15 illustrate different physical phenomena governed by physical principles of friction, such as earthquake dynamics, muscle contraction, internal friction, rolling resistance and friction dynamics for granular materials. This book also covers several new topics including friction in superconductors, experimental studies and computer simulations of layering transition, nanoindentation, wear in combustion enginees, and sliding carbon nanotubes. The book can be very useful to physicists, chemists, materials scientists and engineers who want to understand the basic aspects of sliding friction.