In the face of technologies that sell us escapism at every turn, we need to build up tolerance for “inconvenience.” ...

Step inside the strange world of a superfluid, a liquid that can flow endlessly without friction, defying the common-sense ...

You’re on the street and you’re alone. Spanning the horizon, you see the sun cresting and one glorious corner after another. Some are slow, others are fast, with a few nice straights in between. Tire ...

For nearly two centuries, textbooks blamed icy spills on pressure and friction, but new simulations tell another story. The ...

The machine doesn’t care what it’s making—only that it’s making it fast. Frictionless systems optimize output. But meaning, memory, and margin live in the mess it leaves behind. The great smoothing is ...

Friction plays a key role in how ruptures unzip faults in the Earth’s crust and release waves that cause destructive shaking. Yet dynamic friction evolution is one of the biggest uncertainties in ...

Friction blisters are small pockets of fluid that develop in the upper layers of the skin in response to an injury from friction. Home remedies and preventive measures may help. A friction blister ...

A pleural friction rub is a raspy breathing sound caused by inflammation of the tissues around your lungs. The sound is usually “grating” or “creaky.” It’s also been compared to the sound of walking ...

Friction burns — aka rug burns — can happen when you fall on rough surfaces like asphalt and grass. You can care for minor burns at home by applying cool compresses and taking OTC pain medicine.