Scientists solve a long-standing mystery about wear

17. It generates particulate-matter air pollution and degrades mechanical parts. Adhesive wear a major, yet poorly understood problem. Using simulations, researchers from EPFL offer new insights into what happens when seemingly smooth surfaces rub against each other. Adhesive wear can cause machine failure, particulate-matter air pollution, and many other societal woes. Yet despite its impact on the economy and health, the physics behind wear remains poorly understood. For the first time, an EPFL-led study has reproduced the production of debris particles by adhesive wear in a computer simulation based on the atomic interactions between two surfaces.