Phys. Rev. Lett. 94, 126103 (2005) [4 pages]Very Low Friction State of a Dodecane Film Confined between Mica SurfacesReceived 21 September 2004; published 1 April 2005 The existence of a very low friction state of a lubrication film is demonstrated in nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations of a six-layer dodecane film between mica walls. We argue that this low friction state is thermodynamically stable with respect to the well documented high friction film, the latter being a metastable state. These results are in striking accord with the recent report of Zhu and Granick [ Phys. Rev. Lett. 93 096101 (2004)]. The extreme low friction is the result, not of wall slip, but of layer sliding throughout the film, a mechanism similar to solid lubrication. © 2005 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.126103
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.126103
PACS:
68.35.Af, 81.40.Pq
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