Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 166103 (2006) [4 pages]Capillary Condensation in Atomic Scale Friction: How Water Acts like a GlueReceived 21 December 2005; published 27 April 2006 We present atomic-scale friction force measurements that strongly suggest that the capillary condensation of water between a tungsten tip and a graphite surface leads to the formation of ice at room temperature. This phenomenon increases the friction force, introduces a short-term memory in the form of an elastic response against shearing, and allows us to “write” a temporary line of ice on a hydrophobic surface. Rearrangements of the condensate are shown to take place on a surprisingly slow time scale of seconds. © 2006 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.166103
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.166103
PACS:
68.35.Af, 61.30.Hn, 68.37.Ps
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