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ggblk
May1-10, 05:52 PM
What force(s) are at work when a spherical object, rolling down an angled surface, tends to adhere to the surface, if only for a short while? Does such a thing exist or am I playing fast and loose with the laws of nature?

Thanks
Mu naught
May1-10, 06:51 PM
What do you mean by adhere? Are you saying the sphere is sticky and sticks to the surface?
ggblk
May1-10, 06:55 PM
What do you mean by adhere? Are you saying the sphere is sticky and sticks to the surface?

Thanks for replying.

No, not sticky in the standard sense of the word. I was hoping there might be physical forces at work while the sphere was rolling that would make it less likely to depart from the surface -- if only for a few seconds.

This is for a work of fiction, so I'm less interested in exactitude as I am in giving the scene an authentic feeling.
202250
May1-10, 07:05 PM
No, not sticky in the standard sense of the word. I was hoping there might be physical forces at work while the sphere was rolling that would make it less likely to depart from the surface -- if only for a few seconds.

This is for a work of fiction, so I'm less interested in exactitude as I am in giving the scene an authentic feeling.

If the surface is less than vertical, the ball will roll down it, otherwise, it will fall.
ggblk
May1-10, 07:36 PM
If the surface is less than vertical, the ball will roll down it, otherwise, it will fall.

I realize that. The surface is only *slightly* less than vertical. What I'm asking is, what specific forces are at work?
202250
May1-10, 07:53 PM
theres the gravity force and there is the force of friction at the point of contact between the sphere and the surface.
mordechai9
May2-10, 12:43 AM
When a ball sits on the surface, it might linger there for a moment because it takes time to accelerate after it's released. There might be some force of adhesion between the ball and the surface. Adhesion depends on the material structure and composition of the ball, surface, and the environmental parameters like temperature. There will also be some resistance from the air around the ball, which has to be displaced in order for the ball to move through it. I can't think of any other major forces involved, in a simple scenario.