Frictional dissipation in stick-slip sliding.

The time variation of the frictional force between two surfaces, undergoing stick-slip sliding across a molecularly thin film of a confined model liquid, was examined at high time and force resolution, showing clearly that dissipation of energy occurs both during the slip, and at the instant of stick (via transfer of residual momentum). Detailed analysis indicates that, in marked contrast to earlier suggestions, of order 90% or more of the dissipation occurs by viscous heating of the confined shear-melted film during the slip, and only a small fraction of the energy is dissipated at the instant of stick.