Abstract
Bowden and Hughes1 have shown that removal of surface oxide films can endow metals with very high coefficients of friction. To examine to what extent these films, when present, prevent metallic contact, electrical resistance measurements have been made on the loaded junction between crossed cylinders (¼ in. in diameter) of various metals, their axes being perpendicular. The apparatus was designed to minimize vibration. The metallic constriction resistances have been calculated from theoretical considerations which have been discussed by Holm2 and plotted against the applied normal loads. Experimental curves for gold and silver between 10 gm. and 10 kgm. agreed closely with the calculations. High resistances obtained with other metals indicated the presence of poorly conducting films in the contacts. Some of the curves could be explained quantitatively by assuming the films to be uniform and stable.
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References
Bowden, F. P., and Hughes, T. P., Proc. Roy. Soc., A, 172, 263 (1939).
Holm, R., “Electric Contacts”, 79 (Uppsala, Almquist and Wiksells, 1946).
Kerridge, M., Proceedings—Isotopes Techniques Conference, Oxford, July 1951, 2, 26 (H.M.S.O., 1952). Rabinowicz, E., and Tabor, D., Proc. Roy. Soc., A, 208, 458 (1951).
McFarlane, J. S., and Tabor, D., Proc. Roy. Soc., A, 202, 251 (1950). Hirst, W., Kerridge, M., and Lancaster, J. K., Proc. Roy. Soc., A, 212, 516 (1952).
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COCKS, M. Surface Oxide Films in Intermetallic Contacts. Nature 170, 203–204 (1952). https://doi.org/10.1038/170203a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/170203a0
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