Vapor Lubrication of Graphite Sliding Contacts

Abstract

A fundamental study of graphite sliding contacts shows that atmospheric concentrations of only a few parts per million of the larger organic molecules are sufficient to prevent the severe wear of graphite which occurs in a dry atmosphere. The experimental results suggest roughly the empirical rule that the minimum relative ``humidity'' of a vapor for effective lubrication decreases logarithmically with chain length in the region 5 to 15 A.