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I know (but am quite confused) that static friction is greater than kinetic friction, but is this only true when the object is at rest/stationary? Please explain about this in detail while referring to the measure/amount of static friction and the kinetic friction with an example too if possible

Cleocleo
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1 Answers1

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Static friction is friction when an object is at rest on a surface, which prevents it from being moved by an applied force.

Kinetic friction is friction that acts in the opposite direction to an object’s motion when it is already moving over a surface.

Suppose for a given object and surface the maximum static friction were less than the kinetic friction. If a force was applied to the object that was greater than the maximum static friction but less than the kinetic friction then the object would start moving, but kinetic friction would stop it immediately. The overall effect would be that static friction would appear to be the same value as kinetic friction. This is why we usually say that the maximum static friction cannot (logically) be less than the kinetic friction.

(Note that this analysis assumes the simplest model of friction, where the coefficient of friction does not change with relative speed between surfaces).

This is explained with examples in this Wikipedia article.

gandalf61
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