Abstract
A LITTLE known class of journal and linear bearings is distinguished by having centralizing forces, generated by the surface tension of a liquid, acting on the moving element. In 1889; C. V. Boys1 noted that such capillary centralizing forces could guide a moving element, but the principle has somehow escaped being exploited until recently2. This is surprising because capillary bearings can be made which are stiction-free and astatic even at zero speed, and they can support loads of more than 200 dynes, as will be described.
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References
Boys, C. V., in Soap Bubbles, 37 (Doubleday Anchor, New York, 1959).
Allen, P. J., Amer. J. Phys., 34, 1187 (1966).
Dueltgen, R. L., Mech. Eng., 88, 41 (1966).
Armed Services Tech. Inf. Agen. Tech. Doc. Rep. No. 63–474, Magnetic Bearings for Aerospace Applications (1963).
McHugh, J. D., Mech. Eng., 87, 45 (1965).
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YOUNG, N. Capillary Lubrication. Nature 216, 1246 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/2161246a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2161246a0
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