MECHANICS / NEWTONIAN DYNAMICS

Inclined-Plane Friction

Discover the exact point when gravity overcomes friction. Adjust real parameters and watch the mechanics respond.

EXPERIMENT 01SLIDING
THRESHOLD

Loading interactive 3D laboratoryPreparing articulated components & materials

LIVE 3D ENVIRONMENTDRAG TO ORBIT · SCROLL TO ZOOM · CLICK A COMPONENT

CONTACT SURFACE GUIDE RAIL FORCE VECTOR3D SCENE

READY

DISTANCE TRAVELLED ↗

0.000 m

along the ramp

VELOCITY →

0.000 m/s

positive downhill

ACCELERATION ↗

0.000 m/s²

instantaneous

EXPERIMENT STATUS ●

READY TO SLIDE

t = 0.00 s

01 / MEASUREMENTS

Forces at work

CALCULATED LIVE

GRAVITY PARALLEL 0.0 N

NORMAL FORCE 0.0 N

FRICTION FORCE 0.0 N

CRITICAL ANGLE 0.0 °

02 / DATA ACQUISITION

Velocity over time

LIVE TRACE

EXPERIMENT CONTROLS07 PARAMETERS

Configure your lab

Every adjustment changes the model.

CONTACT MATERIAL01

Ramp inclination24°

5°50°

Block mass4.0 kg

0.5 kg12 kg

Static friction (μs)0.42

01.20

Kinetic friction (μk)0.32

01.00

Gravity9.81

1 m/s²20 m/s²

Extra force0 N

-20 N+20 N

Time scale1.0×

0.1×3.0×

Show force arrowsShow component labelsExploded assemblyTransparent ramp

THE PHYSICS

When does it slide?

A stationary block begins sliding when the force down the plane exceeds the maximum static friction:

mg sin θ > μ_s mg cos θ

Without external push, the critical angle is θ = arctan(μ_s). After movement begins, the kinetic coefficient determines the resisting force.

SELECTED COMPONENT

Sliding test block

Click on any component of the model to inspect its engineering purpose.

SPACE — RUN/PAUSE · R — RESET · . — STEP

The science

The block is a rigid body whose translational displacement along the ramp (positive downhill) is integrated at a fixed 1/120-second timestep. Velocity update uses the tangent net force and displacement uses trapezoidal velocity averaging. The ramp's inclination is a fixed external control during a physics step. Forces act through the block's centre of mass; there is no rotational tumbling, rolling, aerodynamic resistance, adhesion, deformation, heating, or contact compliance.

At rest, |D| <= μsN: static friction is -D and acceleration is zero.

This is an educational, illustrative model of a fictional product: part names, masses, materials and operating figures are simplified and are not a manufacturer's drawing, a design basis or a safety/acceptance document.

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