Question

what are the new techniques being adopted by humand to reduce energy losses by friction

Answer 1

Reducing friction Devices:- 
1) Devices: such as wheels, ball bearings, roller bearings, and air cushion or other types of fluid bearings can change sliding friction into a much smaller type of rolling friction.Many thermoplastic materials such as nylon, HDPE and PTFE are commonly used in low friction bearings. They are especially useful because the coefficient of friction falls with increasing imposed load.[citation needed] For improved wear resistance, very high molecular weight grades are usually specified for heavy duty or critical bearings. 
2) Lubricants: A common way to reduce friction is by using a lubricant, such as oil, water, or grease, which is placed between the two surfaces, often dramatically lessening the coefficient of friction. The science of friction and lubrication is called tribology. Lubricant technology is when lubricants are mixed with the application of science, especially to industrial or commercial objectives.Superlubricity, a recently discovered effect, has been observed in graphite: it is the substantial decrease of friction between two sliding objects, approaching zero levels. A very small amount of frictional energy would still be dissipated.Lubricants to overcome friction need not always be thin, turbulent fluids or powdery solids such as graphite and talc; acoustic lubrication actually uses sound as a lubricant. 
Another way to reduce friction between two parts is to superimpose micro-scale vibration to one of the parts. This can be sinusoidal vibration as used in ultrasound-assisted cutting or vibration noise, known as dither.

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