General Knowledge - General Science - Discussion

What is meant by lubricant?

Due to structure of graphite layer by layer and slippery in nature due its structure so it is used as lubricant.

In simple words it is because graphite is less bounded with the surface so it's used as a lubricant. For example in pencils for smooth writing.

Graphite. Used in food industry, railway track joints, open gear, ball bearings, machine-shop works etc. It is also very common for lubricating locks, since a liquid lubricant allows particles to get stuck in the lock worsening the problem. Rest are hars.

In graphite, each carbon atom is bonded to three other carbon atoms in the same plane giving a hexagonal array.

Graphite's structure is formed by the hexagonal arrays being placed in layers one above the other. Due to these layers, it has a slippery texture, and therefore it is used as a lubricant.

Graphite contain sheets of atoms. This sheet are weakly bounded with other sheet these sheets are can easily separated. That's why graphite act as lubricant.

Different layers of graphite are connected together by weak Van der waal's force. This causes the layers to slip over one another. So, graphite is used as a lubricant.

Lubricant is a substance used to reduce the friction between two or more substances.

Do you all know what are covalent bonds ?

Graphite is best suited for lubrication in air. Water vapor is a necessary component for graphite lubrication. The adsorption of water reduces the bonding energy between the hexagonal planes of the graphite to a lower level than the adhesion energy between a substrate and the graphite. Because water vapor is a requirement for lubrication, graphite is not effective in vacuum. Because it is electrically conductive, graphite can promote galvanic corrosion. In an oxidative atmosphere graphite is effective at high temperatures up to 450°C continuously and can withstand much higher temperature peaks.