MadSci Network: Physics
Query:

Re: Would it be possible to walk if there was no friction?

Area: Physics
Posted By: Dan Berger, Faculty Chemistry/Science, Bluffton College
Date: Mon Feb 10 07:28:41 1997
Message ID: 855372378.Ph


No. Walking is dependent on "pushing off" from a surface, which requires friction. If you've ever tried to walk on ice, or watched an excited dog "spin out" on a waxed floor, you understand this principle.

If surfaces were frictionless we'd have to use reaction drives (jets or rockets), as octopi and squids do.

DJB

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