Adhesion

Adhesion is attraction or bonding between unlike materials at their interface. It arises from intermolecular forces, chemical bonds, or mechanical interlocking.

Van der Waals force: A weak intermolecular attraction arising from interactions between permanent or temporary electric dipoles. These forces attract surfaces even when no chemical bonds form across their interface.
Surface science: The study of physical and chemical phenomena at interfaces between materials. Adhesion depends on properties concentrated at surfaces rather than throughout bulk materials.
Adhesive: A substance used to join surfaces by resisting their separation. Adhesives create bonds across interfaces through wetting, curing, or physical attraction.
Cohesive failure: Failure that occurs within a material rather than along its interface with another material. A joint can remain intact at the interface while its adhesive layer breaks internally.
Hydrogen bond: An attraction involving hydrogen bonded to an electronegative atom and another electronegative atom. Hydrogen bonding can strengthen adhesion between polar surfaces, including polymers and biological materials.
Interfacial tension: The free-energy cost per unit area of an interface between two phases. This quantity describes the energetic boundary whose formation or removal accompanies adhesion.
Adhesive tape: A flexible strip coated with a pressure-sensitive or other adhesive. Tape demonstrates attachment produced by intimate contact without a separate curing step.
Adhesive failure: Failure occurring at the interface between joined materials. This failure directly marks loss of the interfacial bond rather than breakage within a material.
Chemical bonding: The formation of attractive interactions that hold atoms together in molecules or extended materials. Some interfaces adhere through covalent, ionic, or other chemical bonds across the boundary.
Contact mechanics: The study of deformation and stress where solid bodies touch. Real contact area can be much smaller than apparent area, limiting adhesive force.

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