: In the mid-1960s, a team of chemists, physicists, and engineers in the UK investigated massive equipment failures in the steel industry.
: To move massive stones for the pyramids, Egyptian engineers poured water or oils on the sand in front of their sledges to reduce friction, an early form of industrial lubrication. The Industrial Awakening Engineering tribology
: Early humans used friction to generate heat, rubbing sticks together to spark life-saving fires. : In the mid-1960s, a team of chemists,
The story of engineering tribology is a journey from ancient intuition to a sophisticated modern science that saves billions of dollars in energy and materials. At its core, it is the study of between interacting surfaces in relative motion. The Ancient Foundations The story of engineering tribology is a journey
: In 1966, a landmark report by Peter Jost officially coined the term "tribology" (from the Greek tribos , meaning "rubbing"). It revealed that improved friction and wear control could save the British economy millions of pounds annually. The Modern Battle for Efficiency
Tribology began thousands of years ago with simple survival and construction.
For centuries, "rubbing" was just a nuisance until the Industrial Revolution demanded more reliable machines.