Squeal vibrations, glass sounds, and the stick-slip effect

Abstract

The origin of the squeal acoustic emissions when a chalk is rubbed on a blackboard or better on a ceramic plate, and those when a wet finger is rubbed on a smooth surface, such as a glass surface, is sought in the stick-slip effect between the rubbing surfaces. In the case of the squealing chalk, the stick-slip effect is anchored by shear modes of vibration in about a 0.3 mm thick chalk powder band at the rubbing interface, while in the case of the wet finger on glass, by such modes in a band comprising the finger skin. Furthermore, there are the interfacial bands at the contact areas that result in the decrease of the friction coefficient with relative velocity of slide, i.e., the condition for the stick-slip effect to occur. Such bands are basically composed of the asperities on the surface of the chalk band and of the epidermis ridges and the water layer, respectively.