Coefficient of Static Friction

In this world, the laws of Physics govern our motion. Simple rules like, what goes up must come down, determine the way we experience the world around us. However, the more and more I live and experience this world that I am in, the more I find that these laws also tend to govern the way humans act, and the way events unfold.

This is especially pertinent with the idea of coefficients of friction. The coefficient of friction is simply a number that tells you how much a surface will resist a force applied to an object sitting on the surface. It pretty much lets you know how much extra oomph one must supply in order to get something to move when sitting on a surface. The coefficient of static friction represents how much force one must add in order to put something at rest into motion. This force is much higher than the force required to keep something moving on a surface with friction.

I feel that this is a theme that constantly occurs in life: it takes a lot of effort to get something going. There must be some sort of external motivation to inspire one to take any action; whether it be hunger inspiring eating, or hate inspiring violence, people only act when an outside force acts on them. However, it seems that whenever starting out on a new endeavor, it takes a ton of force to get things rolling. The school year just started for me and I'm trying to get back into the groove of things, but it seems as if the rites of summer have been etched into my frontal lobe, and I can't overcome them. It will take a good deal of force to overcome these habits and tendencies, but I know as school lingers on, these thoughts will dwindle and once again I will be back doing homework and acing tests -- it's simply physics.

This coefficient stands to show that not everything comes easy, and a little effort is required for anyone to get anything. Things don't just fall into your lap -- you have to work for them, and try for them. How else will you gather enough force to overcome your schema? Be motivated.

-Evan Dodd