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Just how does once communicate tribology?
This origin of this book has its roots in an "original Swabian Vetternwirtschaft." The authors who are indeed related and have spent long years unraveling countless tribological problems in their chosen profession, decided to embark on a joint project.
As can-do types and "Tüftler"**, they hit upon writing a book. It would be a book on tribology.
But it would be a different kind of book, or at least not a text book.
Their common love of natural science with all of its hidden secrets and wonders and their technological inquisitiveness about how things work served as motivation.
Passionate disputes arose, for example: can a trout could swim in a superfluid liquid without any viscosity? That is, in helium at 2K. The immediate response of colleagues, "well, you can't swim when you are flash frozen," was reject out of hand as being unimaginative.
And so it is. Only those brave enough to ask questions will obtain answers. When you dig below the surface of tribology, you frequently find things that appear self-explanatory at first glance, but which are actually mystifying upon closer examination.
Can you climb a smooth wall? Of course, we can think of a number of animals quite capable of the feat. Children can as well, within door frames. But how does that work? And is it the same effect?
This book contains many questions and answers. Some of them transcend the bounds of serious tribology. You many find yourself amused.
Making tribology comprehensible in words, formulas and diagrams is not an easy task. The "cook your own" experiments should help you surmount this hurdle. Pictures of examples and experiments that show how things work make understanding easier. And if you do the experiment yourself, whether you are a child, high-school student or university student, you will remember it.
And your curiosity will get piqued.
If you hear brakes squeak the next time you walk down the street and wonder what caused it, this book has achieved its goal.
Werner Stehr, Klaus Dobler
* Vettern = Swabian for cousins
** Swabian for inventor, hobbyist, and all-around handy person
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