Psycho-Tribology: A New Branch of Tribology Has Emerged

Abstract

Abstract. Tribology is the science and engineering dealing with friction, wear, and lubrication, and it was practiced already in ancient times, but the term tribology was only coined in 1966 after the Greek word Tribos which means rubbing. Although at its beginning, tribology was exclusively used for mechanical elements, soon after 1966, the term was broadened to several other applications, and various branches and subfields of tribology emerged. This opened the gate to fruitful interdisciplinary collaboration between tribology researchers and colleagues from different science fields. In the present article, we briefly describe the already well-established branches of tribology and then describe the story of a new branch, termed Psycho-tribology, which is still in its infant stage but enthusiastically accepted by several researchers in social sciences who are eager to collaborate with colleagues from the tribology community. Hence, the main purpose of the present article is to expose this new branch to the tribology community and encourage tribology scholars around the world to become active in psycho-tribology for the benefit of global humanity.