No One Knows For Sure Why This Happens!
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They stick together with the power of friendship
🤣
Finally, someone who knows what they’re talking about.
Nobel prize for this man/woman!
Twilight Sparkle approves:)
The real wringing was the friends we made along the way.
For all the air pressure theory proposers: it works in vacuum too , Cody's lab tested that .
In a vacuum there is still pressure. In between the blocks there is absolutely no pressure. Two peaces of paper will pull together.
@@joeherrera1426 substantially less pressure than in our air. Almost space like.
I believe it’s called cold welding.
@@Yourmomloser cold welding different.
Does it work as well though?
Another thing that I have personally tested is keeping these coupled for a week; the bond between the two pieces becomes stronger. You need to use serious force to break them apart and even when you do it sometimes chips will still remain on the other piece. I never had the chance to test this for a longer period of time but maybe other people here in the comments have and they are willing to share the results with us.
someone put them in a time capsule
if they are made of quality metal with absolutely no rust on them, the oxide layer might be thin enough that after being wrung together for a while, the metal atoms would sort of seep through or around edges of the oxide layer and stick them together, it would sort of break up that layer letting the metal atoms "grab hands" here and there.
.... I work in manufacturing and had to tape together and not only wringed my stack up but then tapped it because it was going to be used for a week on the floor. once the job was done I threw the gage stack up in a draw it sat for about a year when i found it and took it apart it the blocks where fine noting chipped and they came apart. These where cheap economy grade blocks as well not sure what material gage block would actually chip like you said pretty odd.
@@devinnnnnn4841 likely what happened is he was using higher quality gauge blocks, and he probably connected them tighter, because I know that you can connect them anywhere from weakly to tightly or anywhere in-between, depending on how well you twist them together, and I would also bet that if he used a higher quality gauge block then the surface would be more flat and more perfect allowing for a more perfect fit. additionally, I would bet yours had finger oils and such on it, and his was either new or really clean when they were originally connected. but I'm just guessing though.
@@Metal_Master_YT Well, if you ever rung together gage blocks you would know if you completely cleaned them with alcohol and remove all oil they will not stick ever they need a small film of oil for the surface tension to work. I've never tapped together the highest grade gage blocks before but i have rung together ceramic blocks from a 50 thousand dollar gage block set and left them rung over night and took them apart the next day and they where fine.
Probably Van der waals forces. Since there is so little roughness on the material, you have a large surface on both sides which can interact with the other side.
given they’re both metal, and especially the same metal, i’d be willing to bet that they’re essentially combining into one block, just with a really weak plane in the middle
@@mace1234this tbh
Unoxidized metal in a vacuum is known to weld together at times even at relatively low temperatures. In our atmosphere it's less common for this to happen due to the thin oxide layers.
@@_Dio_Brando_69why does dio here knowing so kuch about metal oxidization and its interactions with air
This was my thought too
@@mace1234 wooooahh I thought the same thing!! It's crazy that I and others guessed what was happening!
As a machinist I can confirm it only happens when you don’t need it to. Never when you need it to
But then, Isn't that so with everything in the world, tho?
Might be that they are often not perfectly clean surfaces
As a tool and die maker, I can confirm that machinists don't know how to measure properly anyways. Jk, keep up the good work.
@@jeremyhill9720As a metrologist working with NIST calibrated primary standards, I can confirm that no one does anything correctly.
Call yourself a TH-camr then it'll work when you want it to like this guy
“No one knows why that happens.”
The entire internet: “Well, you see…”
Because we DO know why that happens...
Brilliant way to get comments tbh. Ever so slightly trolly I guess, but smart nonetheless.
Magical space dust and wishy thinking...
@@kaizokuo5850That's the same reason they blatantly mispronounce things they are sure to get an ocean of people commenting to correct them.
@@SlickArmor For sure, "ummm, actually" is universal 😂
The real gauge blocks are the friends we make along the way.
Damn straight.
Family are the gauge blocks we choose for ourselves.
nice pfp
According to Wikipedia, there are three factors at play:
“Vacuum applies pressure between the blocks because the air is squeezed out of the joint.
Surface tension from oil and water vapor that is present between the blocks.
Molecular attraction that occurs when two very flat surfaces are brought into contact; this force causes gauge blocks to adhere even without surface lubricants, and in a vacuum.”
Wikipedia overruled TH-cam - what a surprise!
👍
Molecular attraction is what my assumption was. Clickbaity title
I love you guys. Your non haters but with the actually knowledge for the mystery of every tube show. And it's so awesome. Lately it's seems your like the first ten comments. Thank you!!!!
@@KnockedupNoutExactly as the comment you're replying to literally says, word for word.
@@Atmatan_Kabbaher it was edited, says so right up top.
I hate when a piece of metal is trying to heal and someone keeps pulling it apart in halves
😢
MLM
Actually that is more or less what is happening. If the surface were machined finely enough and were free of contamination, if pressed together firmly they would eventually weld together. This is known as cold welding and is used in some industrial processes.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_welding
Your name is so coherent with your message 😄
@@jimgraham6722 Please don´t make combat robots with that ability... I´m off building a time machine... better save than sorry.
Electrons be like: "everything is sticky"
Van Der Waals
this is a very sticky situation
That is what i was thinking. Makes the most sense imo @dumbbuckets2668
@@dumbbuckets2668 Oh I love that song
@@michaeltheaegisOn surfaces this flat though if it was an electron mediated binding force you would expect the blocks to cold weld and wind up stuck permanently (since valence electrons in metals don't form discrete bonds)
I believe that from what I heard in high school physics, isn't this that same thing which happens in space where there's that "Cold Welding" phenomenon caused by the two flat surfaces being so flat that they form metalic bonds
That is part of it. There are multiple forces at play. The force keeping them together in a vacuum after they've been wiped clean of oil is the weakest. Cold welding, also known as vacuum welding in this case where the atoms are able to get close enough to each other to form bonds and is the weakest of the forces at play here. When there is oil on the blocks, they bond is much stronger, and when you have it in atmosphere, they are flat enough to be able to create a vacuum between them, which also helps adhere them to each other.
This isn't it.
@@Maxwell_Twistit's not a vacuum force lmao
@@kaisouseru2466 Cool, expect it is. If you took a few seconds to look it up, you could find that out, but you won't because you're lazy.
Edit: grammar.
As someone who knows very little about physics or chemistry (meaning that this isn't fact at all and that I want to be corrected by someone who is knowledgable):
My first thought is that having such a smooth edge makes it so that a huge amount the atoms from each block can interact simultaneously.
As the atoms from each side meet, their electrons may get mixed into eachother's orbits. This mixing may make it so that a bunch of the block's atoms are sharing electrons with the other block's.
Then, as they are twisted and slid without losing contact, these mixed up orbits might get spun around and twisted up in each other such that the electrons are acting like a velcro, hooking into another atoms's pull.
This connection isn't very strong, and so when the two blocks are pulled on, the electrons might return to the atom they have a stronger connection with (their original one) and the orbits get untangled.
Just wanted to share the first think that came to mind. I am very sure this is wrong and i would really like someone who knows better to inform me :)
i love how everyone's saying "actuallyyes we do know, it is caused by..." and then giving different explanations from each other
Multiple explanations are a part of everything though?
@@SilverVolothe explanations ppl are using include ‘this is how gecko feet work’ and ‘this is NOT how gecko feet work’ so presumably somebody is incorrect there
It appears to be a few different factors (as with anything)
Lmao ikr
Electromagnetism. Or it's something where the atoms are able to get so close to one another that they fuse together on an atomically structured...yea I don't know either.
From actual machine shop experience, the oils from your finger play a surprisingly key roll. If you clean a gauge block with alcohol and try to wring them together, it tends not to work nearly as well
I’ve heard of cold welding, but this throws out that theory
All the vacuum and cold-welding people should be aware of the need to account for a thin film when determining the size of gage blocks www.nist.gov/document/mono180pdf
@@spicysmooth2 Metal atoms are held together by a free-flowing "sea" shared electrons.
therefor when any 2 clean/pure surfaces of the same metal come into contact (IE no oils, gases, or oxide layers to separate them) the electrons are free to move from one piece to the other as if they were one solid piece, thus almost instantly "cold welding" them together.
as for how they combat this, they will do a combination of things such as not using the same metal on to parts of a joint, or coating the metal in something to provide a barrier layer.
If you have a good set, you can get them to wrong just as well when they are clean. Taking them to a precision ground stone to remove any high spot and then wringing them together makes a huge difference
bcoz the oil increase contact between surface area
As a machinist, we were taught that it happens because of the surface tensions squeezes out any air and creates a "vacuum" between the two surfaces.
Interestingly enough, if you clean the blocks really well with alcohol, they won't wring. If you simply touch your forehead and touch the block with that oil, they will wring really well.
Food for thought.
I'll have to find a link, but the youtube Codyslab did an experiment where he tried to wring some guage blocks in a vaccum chamber and it still worked, meaning it isn't atmospheric pressure holding them together.
@matthewjohnson9746 from what we were taught in school and what I tried to explain here, a vacuum chamber would make the blocks wring together even better.
@@robertfreeman7916 Ah sorry, I thought you were talking about the air pressure explanation. A lot of people think that the adhesion is based on wringing out little air pockets essentially creating microscopic suction cups, which wouldn’t work in a vacuum. The best explanation I’ve seen is that the blocks are machined so flat that the distance between atoms when mated is small enough for Van der Wall forces to come into effect. This explanation seems to be aided by the fact that more precisely machined blocks seem to wring better.
This is very interesting and does make it sound like probably just skin oils from handling that are playing a major role.
The sources of the forces holding gage blocks together are thought to come
from:
1. Air pressure from the surrounding environment as the air is squeezed out when the blocks are slid together.
2. Surface tension from oil that remains on the gage blocks or water vapor from the air acts as a glue to hold them together.
3. When two very flat surfaces are brought into such close contact with each other, this allows an interchange of electrons between the atoms of the separate blocks, which creates an attractive molecular force. (This force will remain even in a vacuum or if no oil or water is present on the blocks.)
Source: Starrett
"It's science, n stuff, makes it do that."
-Pinkman of course
Haha 😄 this guy
Yeah science!
Let Jesse eat his food, Brock
You forgot the "Yo!" at the beginning 😂
Best answer yet! 👍🏻
After what I have found after some research is:
"1) Air pressure from the surrounding environment as the air is squeezed out when the blocks are slid together.
2) Surface tension from oil that remains on the gage blocks or water vapor from the air acts as a glue to hold them together.
3) When two very flat surfaces are brought into such close contact with each other, this allows an interchange of electrons between the atoms of the separate blocks, which creates an attractive molecular force. (This force will remain even in a vacuum or if no oil or water is present on the blocks.)The last two sources are thought to be the most significant."
So it's a partial (so there's still a crisp fracture where the edges of blocks were) cold weld (like in space)?
@@matthewsalmon2013
Not exactly a full cold weld like in space, if I remember correctly.
You can wring gauge blocks together thousands of times, they should still measure the exact same dimensions.
Now that sounds like the best explanation so far.
But how do we prove it? Do every test to single out every other force?
How do you even cancel out van der waals...? Which is the third one you talked about.
First two have been tested via vacuum chamber with clean, dry blocks. No significant change
They’re hardened to the same Rockwell so there shouldn’t be any wear between them. That would be an interesting experiment. Wring them together 1000 times and weigh them to see if one is pulling material from the other. I’m guessing it’s more of a general force like surface tension , than a true cold weld like you would have with gold.
"No one knows why it happens"
Your dad: "Well, when one Gauge block loves another..."
You said it....smooth on the molecular level and metal always has oil ..push slide twist = vibration gage block ringing the harmonic ringing of the metal back and forth connect
It happens because of van der Waals forces, very weak atomic forces that are distant dependant. Two super smooth surfaces pressed together become close enough that these forces become strong enough to attract the surfaces together. A more interesting example is a geckos foot, which have many extremely small fibers that can fit into the imperfections of a surface allowing them to climb on walls and ceilings.
With 2.9k comments already, I knew someone would have written it already, so I didn't need to.
I've heard that geckos use the casimir effect to stick to walls. And I also feel like electrostatic forces have a play in the role too. So do geckos use all three, or just the VdW force?
Was looking for this comment thank you
My thoughts as well... Thumbs up!
Yeah this is it. Kind of amazed the top comment completely ignores general chemistry knowledge. Well, I guess that's a lie, I'm not surprised at all.
What is also interesting is that if you leave them "wrung" together for more than a few minuets they become harder and harder to to get apart.
I saw a set of blocks that had "melded" and could not be separated.
That is why they suggest pulling them apart after each measurement or set of measurements.
That molecular bonding that is suggested as one of the causes, may very well turn into molecular joining to create a single solid piece.
Yes, somewhat like "diffusion bonding."
Honestly feels so surreal that in our reality smooth metal blocks will just stick to each other sometimes and get harder and harder to unstick and we literally have no idea why it happens... is this a new update or was this always here
Metals have what's called "the sea of electrons." It's the outermost electrons of a metal atom are free to move among the other atoms nearby (one of the reasons metals conduct electricity well). When you get the surfaces of metal blocks smooth enough, the electons will start to "see" the two pieces as a single piece of metal. They will jump across readily (no voltage required) and the crystalline structure of the metals will start shifting together. The latter is very slow, but the former is immediate.
Considering a metal is essentially a crystalline array this makes sense. The crystals fit together like a zipper and lock in. I bet it doesn't work with crystals that have different structures.
Yeah, i've heard even solids diffuse into each other but it's a process that takes years, if you leave a gold coin sitting on a silver plate long enough(decade or two) then afterwards there will be traces of each inside the other.
The reason this works is because both blocks are likely charged everywhere. But is you press them together and turn you wipe off some charge that make the space between charge less. It’s the same phenomenon with a paper over a ruler on a table. The space between the paper and table is less charged.
When the blocks slide together, air gets squeezed out from between them, creating a slight vacuum. The pressure from the surrounding environment then pushes the blocks together as well as a thin film of oil or water vapor that naturally forms on the blocks acts like a glue, creating surface tension that pulls the blocks together.
Tiny little guage elfs hold it together, but they have goofy shaped arms so you have to kinda spin it like that so the elfs can lock in a good grip. When you snap it apart, you're actually, well, RIP elfs. Good thing they have relatives in there.
I just wish they'd stop hiding behind the curtains and stealing my underpants
You're a shoe in for next years' Physics Nobel...
@nothingreally8247 the umderpants gnomes are terrible, but the sock goblins that live in the drying machine are truly the worst.
When you snap it apart rip elves but when you do it again it still works every time. So we can conclude that the elves seem to be reproducing pretty fast.
@@thePronto thats what my teacher said before he threw a shoe at me
You have no idea how satisfying it was to hear you say they were machined with precision AND accuracy.
There's a difference? Do tell me more if you'd be inclined.
(Also I'm being genuine, not sarcastic)
@@tempest8342 precision is how close the results are together and accuracy is how close they are to the desired result.
if i want blocks of 10mm width and I receive all blocks of exactly 11mm then that would be very precise but inaccurate. if i instead received a bunch close to 10mm, but each one was 1/10th mm off, then that would be quite accurate but imprecise.
Thank you
@@tempest8342Precision is the consistency of accuracy
@@rockstarali99no
Pretty sure we do-basically, because of the way that metal's atoms are arranged, the only thing stopping two pieces of metal from "cold-welding" to each other is the thin layers of air and corrosion between them. So, if those blocks have only very little corrosion and are so smooth that rubbing them together in that way prevents any air from getting between, then they can cold-weld to each other! The phenomenon is more commonly witnessed in a vacuum, where it happens stronger, more easily, and can be an even greater problem-many an astronaut has lost their tools due to them cold-welding to whatever they happen to be working on.
Why the stickiness? Ask a gecko and he/she/it will say, it's van der Waals forces and probably not just that. 😀
Worked in a place where lasers were made out of glass. The parts couldn't be glued together as glue vapour would poison the laser gas. Couldn't be welded as that would cause optical problems. Parts were glass, polished so smooth they stuck together on their own without adhesive.
Tony can you please call Sarah back she is worried sick
Tony, it's been four years. Sarah just wants some closure, could you at last give her that?
@@youretheChrist I have not the faintest idea what you're talking about. You either have the wrong person, or you're barking mad. Please stop making baseless accusations immediately.
@@Justin-uc8sc I haven't a clue who you mean. The last time I knew someone called Sarah was about 1969.
@@tonywalton1464listen man, if you don’t contact Sarah, I’m going to uninvite you to the party.
Any plans on a longer video for this phenomenon Steve? (unless you've already made one!)
Slip gauge. Measurement labs have those. It's a part of the mechanical engineering curriculum lab.
The action lab guy did a video on these years ago. Not too in-depth, but good if you want a simple explanation.
AvE made some videos years ago about them
Adam savage has a great video on this in one of his gauge block videos and its excellent. He says it is the surface tension that keeps them together
@@joshpearson3606probably since there is a small amount of oil film to prevent rusting. But other explanations include things like vacuum or intermolecular forces like how geckos feet work.
When you twist them together, you're scraping off the oxidized outer layer. 2 pieces of a material will fuse together at a molecular level. The reason they can be snapped apart is that this process is extremely imperfect in an environment with oxygen. There is barely any fusion - so they can be easily taken apart - but there is some.
We do know why this happens. It’s called vacuum welding. This is why there are no smooth surfaces on space suits and capsules. If you had a smooth surface on your heel and stepped onto a smooth surface on a space craft, you’d be stuck, permanently.
Why this happens is very well known! With such smooth surfaces, van der Waals force become dominant, causing the two blocks to stick together. For some optical assemblies, this is so strong because of the tight surface tolerances, it is used to fasten lenses or prisms together permanently.
Thank you! I was looking for this comment. It's a joke that Steve said "nobody knows". Education failed on him...
I also thought its electricity. Geckons move on surfaces using it.
This right here is the reason! The mis-information in the title of this short made me cringe. I'm glad you clarified the reason.
This is what I am too
😂 BTW... Geckos also use van der Waals force to stick to walls: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gecko_feet
It makes perfect sense to me that this happens. I just don't know why.
I know exactly why it happens yet it makes no sense at all.
I get why you would reply to my comment in this way, I'm just not sure how to respond.@@AnteBrkic
The thing is I don't know why it doesn't happen to all other things
you werent meant to respond@@onetrueslave
They stick together with the power of atomic pull.
I found something strange regarding the "wringing" effect. I found that pieces of glass from a window that had broken (after being cleaned off) will wring together just like gauge blocks, and even after I dried off all the water with a towel then a heat gun. you have to get it just right, but they will do the same thing as long as the glass is perfectly clear of any finger oils, and perfectly flat. and you have to do the same motion that you showed as well, which makes me think that its the same effect here too.
The odd thing about that is they have to be perfectly clean. They are so flat and the surface finish so fine that even the grease from your finger will prevent them from being wrung together.
Im a machinist and use these regularly, this still amazes me.
When I first started as a machinist this was one of the coolest things that I was taught and went on to read paper after paper on the topic. Super cool phenomenon
can you suggest something to read upon about wringing?
@@anshzota8387😂😂😂
@@anshzota8387yeah I’d love to read up on the stuff too it seems obvious to me like “oh some particles just got lined up real well cause of how tuned the surface is” but I’d love to read some professional opinions
I heard it’s because they’re so smooth that so much of the 2 surfaces can get so close that they kinda become one object, I heard that’s why glass cups stick inside each other too
@@Cheesepuff8"kinda become one object?" How? What happens? Elaborote please
My grandfather, a master machinist for American Airlines (and did military contract work) had a set of these! I still have them now. He called this phenomenon molecular cohesion.
I think you’re right about that, its attributed to the strong nuclear force that becomes prevalent when the objects have a good surface area connection like that produced in the smooth surfaces on the blocks.
Another instance of this is in the way geckos stick to surfaces; their little toes are designed to exploit the same molecular cohesion.
@@devinsmith9622nuclear force does not exist at the scale of molecules.
molecules = electromagnetic force, from the electrons.
the nuclei of atoms never ever interact with each other because they're enclosed by electron shell which keeps the nuclei far apart.
even if you break apart the atoms and remove the shell the nuclei are all positively charged and strongly repel each other via electrostatic force.
meaning there's never any nuclear interaction between atoms or molecules.
@@YounesLayachi "Nuclear cohesion" implies the nucleus of the atom.
The nucleus is not at play here. This is all the fault of Electrons and Valence Shells.
Proximity allows the atoms of two different objects (of the same element) to become molecules of that metal. Not complete, and very inefficient.
The term is "MOLECULAR cohesion," and not "Nuclear."
Nuclear cohesion is a rather violent process called "Fusion BOOM!"
Cool
@@YounesLayachiIn nuclear physics and particle physics, the strong interaction, which is also often called as the strong force or strong nuclear force, is a fundamental interaction that confines quarks into protons, neutrons, and other hadron particles. Wikipedia
its just surface tension, you can literally do this with any item and a wall, you rub and apply heat with the item to the wall and it sticks..
This welding occurs in space where air doesn’t disrupt the metal’s structure with a patina. There are several discussions of this phenomenon including in volume 1 of Feynman lectures and I recall his hypothesis regarding very well machines copper sheets is that the copper is sort of “one molecule” a continuous lattice, and if smooth enough pressing two copper sheets together just joins two lattices, but incompletely in the short term and it gets stronger with time because of a kind of slow annealing. Overtime, more atoms fall into crystal formation.
"Scientists don't know" is just an intriguing way of saying "scientists have some pretty good ideas but they're arguing about which ones are right".
That means they don’t know
@@andrewmarion7073 There's "don't know for sure" and there's "don't know at all" and they're very different things. :-)
so they dont know.
guessing isnt knowing.
@@centralprocessingunit4988 I guess we don’t know how gravity works then, or thermodynamics, or motion, or light, or metabolism, or pharmacology, or crystal growth, or radiation, or the strong and weak nuclear forces, or what causes tides, or that Earth is round, or the weather, or consciousness, or electricity, or chemistry, or evolution, or anything. Someone is always right. Just because you or he doesn’t know how gauge blocks work, doesn’t mean no one does.
“All models are wrong, some are useful.” -George Box
No human is ever going to “know” what is going on, but why should we stop trying? Never be afraid to admit you don’t know something, but have faith in yourself. I have learned that I was correct so many times after I was told that I was wrong, that I’m constantly skeptical of everything, even when it’s to my detriment. Good luck, and stay safe out there folks!
@@centralprocessingunit4988No, but a hypothesis based upon certain constants that you have observed while researching is a little more than “guessing”.
Love. Love is what bonds them
And similarly, what pulls them apart is also love. Love will tear them apart again
In a joy(ful) division.@@birddaddydetta
Not always love. Sometimes two gauge blocks will just meet at a bar, have a few drinks, then have a one night wringing.
I love this response. Now we are stuck with each other
@@birddaddydettaThat's when we call it hate. Wait! How could it have those two labels at the same time!? Love&hate. Oh well, it's the fake kinda love...
Depending on what they are made out of (if they are a pure non-alloyed metal they may actually be welding themselvs together at the molecular level due to pressure and friction. The metal wants to continue its crystaline molecular structure and will under specific circumstances "cold weld" themselvs together.
GPT-4:
Gauge blocks, also known as Johansson gauges, slip gauges, or Jo blocks, can stick together when twisted due to a phenomenon known as "wringing". This occurs when two very flat and smooth surfaces are brought into contact with each other. The mechanism behind wringing is not entirely understood and is attributed to a combination of factors.
1. **Molecular attraction:** At a microscopic level, when two surfaces are very flat and clean, the atoms of one surface can get close enough to the atoms of the other surface to allow molecular attraction forces, such as van der Waals forces, to come into play. These forces can pull the blocks together firmly.
2. **Air exclusion:** As the two surfaces are brought together, air is progressively excluded from the interface. When you twist the gauge blocks slightly while pressing them together, it helps to expel air from between the blocks more effectively. With the air removed, a vacuum can form, creating suction that holds the blocks together. This reduction in air pressure contributes to the sticking effect.
3. **Surface tension of films:** Sometimes, there may be a very thin layer of oil or moisture present on the surface of the gauge blocks. When the blocks are brought together, this thin film can create capillary action, resulting in a surface tension force that additionally helps to hold the blocks together.
4. **Plastic deformation:** Under considerable pressure, there might be a slight deformation at the microscopic level, where the peaks and valleys of the surfaces conform more closely. This plastic deformation enhances the contact area between the blocks, enabling them to stick together more efficiently.
Wringing requires the surfaces to be extremely clean and free from dirt or oxidation. Any contamination can prevent the blocks from sticking. The phenomenon of wringing is particularly useful in metrology for building up stacks of gauge blocks to achieve a desired dimension with high accuracy and stability.
Van Der Wals force causes it. It is always present, but with an extremely smooth surface and no dirt it becomes strong enough to be demonstrated.
*Van der Waals**
Not "Van Der Wals".
Oh it has a name, I guess that explains it
@@shmosel_ Here you go:
"Van der Waals forces include attraction and repulsions between atoms, molecules, as well as other intermolecular forces. They differ from covalent and ionic bonding in that they are caused by correlations in the fluctuating polarizations of nearby particles (a consequence of quantum dynamics)."
except it works better with oil on it.
NOBODY KNOWS FOR SURE WHY IT HAPPENS
You're just so strong you mashed them together and strong enough to break it apart.
Vsauce ball smashing vibes
@@chaomatic5328 ball smashing 🤤
That's the best theory we have.
Gravity!
Cold welding by hand
In a vacuum they would become inseparable. This is called cold welding and it has happened to satellites and spacecraft in the past.
If the surfaces are flush enough, they'll simply adhere because the atoms become close enough that they now act as one solid object.
These are the basis for basically every piece of machinery in the modern world. In WW1 we had to smuggle a ton of gauge block kits out of Sweden to use for standardizing our military production across the country. Every tool could be measured against these to verify their accuracy and it is one of the most important pieces of equipment in all of manufacturing.
Oh I thought by basis of machinery, they were built by connecting all these blocks in this way...
Whoa, no screws!?
Cadillac's early use of Johansson Blocks made them the _'Standard of the World'._
@@labbeaj A really good video that goes over these and their importance is right here. Should start at the time they begin talking about the Swedish guy who invented these blocks th-cam.com/video/gNRnrn5DE58/w-d-xo.html
@@blakebrown534 Great video! Thanks for sharing!
Right, we didn’t have rulers in WW1…
My own theory on this is when you push the two blocks together and twist, you scratch off some of the surface oxidized layer of material and push out most of the air. This allows the freeflowing electrons in the metal to slowly pull the atoms together and create bonds, allowing for a kind of cold welding. Of course the smooth surface of the metal blocks helps tremendously in facilitating maximum surface area touching giving a greater chance to start forming bonds. The fact that the longer the two blocks stay connected, the harder they are to take apart kinda supports my theory. I imagine if you left them for long enough they would fully weld together.
I could be wrong but, that's just my thoughts on it.
This phenomenon also happens in space. It's called cold welding.
@@Atlantis.Reborn if you read my full post you'd see I mentioned cold welding. My point here is the version of the phenomenon is cold welding in slow motion because of atmospheric interference, the smoothness of the materials allows for more surface area contact with creates the phenomenon.
They're not metals, they're carbides. The addition of carbon improves stiffness and density by removing electron holes. So the electrons can't flow freely like they would in metals. It's van der waal forces.
Surface tension of the liquid layer hold them together. It's mostly water layer on air (a couple 100 nm of water), or oil residue in vacuum. It will work in vacuum too, unless you burn everything away from the surface, and then they won't stick together anymore. I've played with mica (gives you atomically flat surface) like this while working in AFM manufacturing company, so if you find AFM with vacuum and heating capability you can try that too and actually measure the forces. Check metrology labs in your area.
Same reason metal welds together in space i imagine, when you press it together theres no air in between them to form an thin rust layer, and rubbing them together like that removes the existing thin rust layer. Forgot what its called exactly
Professional science educator: "scientists are not sure why this happens." TH-cam commenters: "Ackshually..."
Thats also his entire fault for making it clickbait. Irronically enough, even the comments that have already been proven wrong have given more materials to back them up in a few characters than this dude in a 60sec short
@cosmicosmofour
Spot on.
We don’t know why it happens, if we knew we would know, but we don’t know
@Lyfalda And how is he supposed to do that in a short? And what material? If he back it up with some science then that means the title is wrong because something is known about it.
@@niello5944 like I said, thats the entire point of the short. He is not supposed to do that because thats not the point of the short, not the purpose he has given to it. And im calling it out for it.
Scientists dont know why that happens and still the average youtube viewer immediately has an explanation.
It's aliens
Because we average TH-cam viewers still process some scientific knowledge, and some of us also have higher learning degrees?
It boggles me how many people are very confident about it as well! 😂
Scientist do know. That is why we know.
Scientists don't know =/= Scientists have no clue.
I think it works like suction. The same way pages will stick together, they're perfectly flat and it doesn't allow airflow between them without force.
I saw on a Japanese TV show a long time ago that it's the same mechanism that makes glue work. Never questioned it at the time but I trust Steve mored.
What is even weirder is that if you left them stuck together for a couple of days then they won't come apart at all. If you then try to break them apart with a hammer they will break apart but parts of one will remain fused to the other
The cut is so clean that you're basically just reassembling the molecular lattice with the wringing. It's almost like they are one thing again.
This seems quantum to me. The electrons are so close they are being shared
you are all gay
Doesn’t that demonstrate that it’s a molecular structure type bond?
@@abebuckingham8198that’s what o thought. Like what r the arguments to the contrary here
Ich bin Mechaniker in Deutschland. Die Flächen der Endmasse sind geläppt, d.h. sie haben eine extrem geringe Rautiefe dadurch wirkt die Anhangskraft/Adhäsion wenn man sie zusammenpresst. Man kann mit diesen Endmassen hervorragend Passungen bis zu 1/1000 mm genau messen was z.B. in der Feinmechanik oft notwendig ist. Allerdings sollte man sie nach Gebrauch sofort wieder auseinander nehmen, da sonst die Gefahr der Kaltverschweissung besteht und sie dadurch unbrauchbar werden. Auch gibt es verschiedene Genauigkeitsgrade, (1-4) im Extremfall werden sie auch aus Oxidkeramik hergestellt allerdings werden diese dann haupsächlich in Messlaboren benutzt.
What a legend. Unfortunately these people don't care about the why. They just like cute facts 😂
Und woher kommt diese Anhangskraft? Ist es die Van-der-Waals-Kraft?
@@O_Lee69Meines Wissens ist es keine Van der Waals- Kraft, da keine Interaktion auf molekularer Ebene stattfindet.
Could you explain "cold welding"? I dont see how that could even be possible.
@@russellbryant2273 there is tension between them, tension means movement. They are being welded together extremely slowly it's not an instant reaction happening
My theory is spot welding. Metal in a vacuum has been observed to just weld on contact without any increase in temperatures. This is much less likely to happen in our atmosphere due to thin oxide layers. But when 2 very, very smooth surfaces of metal come together, I'd bet it can still happen in spots, albeit weakly. Might get stronger after a bit of time
It's not vacuum pressure, this works in a vacuum with no air either. When molecules of seemingly solid metal are close enough they can begin to exchange electrons forming a bond. It's not welding. They dont become part of the same crystilatus structure but it's a form of bonding via electron. exchange. Another thing that can cause gauge wringing is oil from your hands kinda gluing them together.
The atoms probably get confused and aren't sure if they are supposed to be a part of the same object
Best description freaking ever
That's what I was thinking too and the only reason why they don't permanently bound is because the surface got oxidized. If you were to make those parts in the vacuum of space and stick them together they may fuse permanently.
I like this explanation 😂😂
Basically insta-welds into a single object; individual atoms technically never touch in normal molecules, so by ensuring they can connect in a manner similar to as if they were a single object by reducing the distance sufficiently, it allows the same connection from the atoms of the objects as if they were the same one. That's all the understanding I have of this.
@@chamoo232 I like this explanation. Cold welding is a known phenomenon in space (a vacuum) with two polished metals.
I'd like to know if the bond between the gauage blocks gets stronger over time.
there has been several instances of cold welding happening when they are left stuck like that. the whole thing doesn't weld but little bits of the crystalline grain will fuse across the boundary.
Yup, cold welding. A lot of time the blocks are stored lightly oiled so they don’t oxidize and then cleaned when they are used.
NASA had an issue with cold welding on one of the early space missions and now makes sure they limit when two identical metals can come into contact.
Was looking for this comment, it was my first thought as well.
Exactly. "No one knows why this happens!"
Yes, we actually do know and the knowledge is common enough that a bunch of random people in the comments of a TH-cam short have the answer.
Ah, that makes sense. I thought perhaps an electron sharing phenomenon. Neat.
My best guess would be is that the surface area is so smooth that it's actually creating a tiny vacuum that's essentially "dry welding" them together.. albeit very fragily.
It reminds me of how a ruler can be "stuck" to a wall if you slide it fast enough. Fun experiment to try if you're bored.
Its lack of air/atmosphere between the items forms tension, like a vacuum holding 2 perfectly flat objects together
Bro your words are enunciated with great precision and accuracy. Such a joy to listen to!
Thank you for this rizzminder. I hope next time you'll be more skibidi. -Suckyoumammathroughastraw cuntbasket
Then how about you take some inspiration and call him "Sir" instead of "Bro"?
@@Makes_me_wonder I lack the verbosity sir
@@fordmodelT1957 same no. of letters tho ?
@@Makes_me_wonderI don’t think you understand what you think you understand
I believe something similar to this happens in space. The air on surfaces oxidizes metals producing something like a molecular shield, preventing like surfaces from combining, and so if you have bare metal tools in a vacuum, pressing them together causes them to sort of weld together. Cold Welding. Presumably if you let them remain in contact long enough, they literally become one object. It's like molecular velcro, except if they stay stuck long enough they merge into one object.
Cold welding..we watched veritasium🤪
At what point exactly can you say it becomes "one object" when the surfaces become covalent bonds holding them. how are they bonded initially....no reason to think it doesn't bond immediately why do you imagine it would have to take a moment to become"one object".
Really the whole universe is one object or maybe the only singular objects are elementary particles but the fact that you focus on the idea of when separate things join together to become one object is so illogical.let me know if you got this and you're welcome 😁
@@paulmoss4378what the heck are you on about
@@paulmoss4378 It's most likely technically one object as soon as they start sticking together, it's just that the number of bonds that have formed are easy enough to overpower and separate with simple human strength. It's just that given the time, the incredibly smooth surfaces can make more and more bonds until it'd be impossible for human hands to break them back into two objects again.
The way it was explained to us is that the surfaces are so smooth that there are enough atoms in the crystalline lattice of the metal to align with each other and attract. It's the same force that holds the atoms within the metal block together.
IDK if that's actually the case, I'm not a physicist, but this is what is taught nation-wide in my country and it makes good sense to me
As a mechanical engineer/machinist I would like to stay those are ground to precision not machined.
So, you chose to fight the internet on Vanderwals effect. Well played.
I‘ve searched for this comment
Came to say the same
Come on guys, its not about the sticking effect, its about that if you try to stick it together the straight way, it doesn't work. you have to twist it.
If it's vanderwaals ONLY, why doesn't it do that for super smooth and precise objects in other materials?
*Van der Waals force aren't reliant on a particular method of bringing atoms close enough together for the attraction to take place...so there would be no need to wring the two pieces of metal against one another....it would be just enough to just touch them and since just touching without twisting wouldn't attach them then I would think the "VDW effect" isn't the culprit....(imho ofcourse)
I worked as a coil inspector at a steel mill and had to verify my micrometer every shift with the gauge block. They always told us NOT to cold weld the blocks together as it tore up the surface to the point that it would throw off the readings. Don’t know if that’s true or not, but that’s what we all were told…….
It is
It'll wear them out over years and years from abrasion, but it is not cold welding. That's an easily verifiable mechanism, we'd have figured out the phenomenon of wringing decades ago if that were the case.
Friction and wear are the reason. Btw this is not cold-welding, actually, but perhaps confused with results of cold-welding, which results in a weak attraction to the target connection that may be held together by the same force.. van-der-wals force, or so I've been taught in Chem classes.
the biggest pain about that is, if you have them like that, they will cold weld themselves after 8h being like that, making them useless because they will be sticky and unprecise which is just annoying after you prepd some thingies and want to continue at the next shift
@@ghostmousewolf1453sounds like atomic entanglement
Richard Feynman put it, when the interfaces between like materials are very flat, there is "no way for each atom to know which block it is in", so the bond across the interface gets more and more like the normal molecular forces holding the lattice together the flatter the interface
It's called cold welding. The two pieces share electrons and weld together. It happens in space frequently and it's strengthened if you apply pressure, for instance, striking with a hammer.
Very smooth surfaces bring together more molecules when they touch, than normal surfaces. As a result, a large interaction force glues the surfaces.
Bring retired now, machined for over 40 years, and using gage blocks pretty much on a daily basis,
This is the correct answer.
Sounds right, this is it. Why does everyone say Science is hard?
💯 this is friction at work
The smoother the surface the more inter molecular interaction, the more intermolecular interaction the more they bind with each other via weak bonds
Does a wet paper towel stick more effectively to a countertop than a dry paper towel?
It would be awesome if you could actually put a name to that force. Obviously a force exists here, the problem is that we're not quite sure which one. Just saying "generic interaction force" means nothing.
Also happens if you press together 2 platters from an old hard drive.
I'm going to try this!
Nobody knows why it doesn't work on new hard drives
@@mikebarnacle1469 obviously the data makes it sticky 🤣
I think the effect in all cases has to do with the need for air molecules to take the space between the surfaces but you need space for the molecules to START moving in that direction. You need to SLIDE them apart first.
@@fmphotooffice5513 that would be irrelevant in a vacuum and that's been tested, it's not air pressure alone. It's largely to do with oil molecules from your fingers
I worked in engineering quality control for over 30 years, I was told never snap gauge blocks apart as it damages the faces.
it has to be because you've squeezed all the air out from between the blocks so that now you have atmospheric air pressure pushing them together.
This phenomenon that makes them stick is Van der Waals forces. And for those that think it is atmospheric pressure, no. This is a recognized problem in space engineering where precision machined part will stick together known as vacuum cementing or cold welding. It is also the thing that allows geckos to climb wall and ceilings.
100% exactly Right. I waited to see if anyone said the answer before I typed it in. Great job 👍🏿, and that is coming from a Mechanical Engineer.
Is probably*
This hasn't been experimentally proven yet with a high enough degree of certainty. That being said, its my assumption that van der waals force is likely the culprit
Those are 2 completely separate effects you're describing. Cold welding doesn't involve Van der Waals forces at all, it's driven by metallic bonding because the entire point of it is that 2 metal "objects" brought atomically close together are indistinguishable from a single metal lattice to their valence electrons. And because it's driven by metallic bonding, it's permanent, you wouldn't be able to slip them apart, you wouldn't even be able to fully wring them together before they seized up.
Van der Waals forces are likely involved in some way but I'm skeptical that they're a complete explanation given that they typically also operate over atomic binding distances, so to get the kind of strength from them that you would need to hold gauge blocks together like that you're probably entering into cold welding territory and this effect is very clearly not a permanent cold weld.
@@bosstowndynamics5488 indeed. I can appreciate your knowledge of metallic bonding and that it is fundamentally different from other types of bonds it is still the Van der Waals forces that is responsible for the attraction. It is even a thing with gases and is taken in to account in more advanced calculations concerning gas behaviors.
Further, cold welding is not instantaneous and there are cautions to not allow gauge blocks to be left wrung together for extended periods of time because the wringing will become permanent.
The thing with space flight is the vacuum, because gases, such as at atmospheric pressures, form exceedingly thin, but still present, films that slows down the onset of the formation of metallic bonding. This coupled with the often extended periods (weeks, months or even years) that parts may not be in motion, the Van der Walls forces providing the pressure, and inevitable thermal cycling, causing in effect a grinding action, causes the problem.
Unless this is some new as-yet-undiscovered force of nature, it can ONLY be van der walls because it's the only force that works at this scale and with this strength of bond.@@Nictator42
You said "30mm" like you were scared of upsetting the Americans. 😂
He probably meant 30 microns, 30 mm isn't exactly very good precision.
@@Spacekriek Good quality gage block have a tolerance of less than one micron. ISO 3650:1998
@@davidhopkins7715 Thank you ! That sounds incredibly close.
@@SpacekriekThe width of the gauge block is 30 mm
@Spacekriek doubt the eye can see 30micron object. This obviously 30mm
1. Air pressure from the surrounding environment as the air is squeezed out when the blocks are slid together. 2. Surface tension from oil that remains on the gage blocks or water vapor from the air acts as a glue to hold them together. Just a simple google search, not definite evidence in my part
AI says this:
Gauge blocks, also known as Johansson gauges, slip gauges, or Jo blocks, are precision tools used for length measurement. They stick together through a phenomenon known as "wringing," which allows them to be combined into various lengths with high accuracy and stability. The exact mechanism behind wringing is not fully understood and is thought to involve several factors:
1. **Molecular attraction**: When two gauge blocks are brought into close contact, the attraction between the molecules on the surfaces of the blocks can cause them to stick together. This is often referred to as Van der Waals forces, which are weak electric forces that attract neutral molecules to one another.
2. **Air pressure**: When the blocks are slid against each other, air is expelled from between the surfaces, creating a partial vacuum that helps to hold the blocks together. This effect is similar to suction.
3. **Surface tension of fluids**: A very thin layer of oil or moisture that is often present on the surface of the blocks can also contribute to the sticking effect through capillary action and surface tension, creating a kind of adhesive bond.
4. **Flatness and smoothness of surfaces**: The extremely flat and smooth surfaces of gauge blocks also contribute to the wringing phenomenon. The high degree of flatness means that the blocks can be brought into very close contact over a large area, enhancing the molecular attraction and vacuum effect.
Wringing gauge blocks together allows for the precise measurement and calibration of equipment in machining, engineering, and metrology. The ability to create a temporarily stable and precise combined length from individual blocks is crucial in settings where high precision is required.
we learned in school (was a school for mechanical engineering) that because of the extremely smooth surface it allows some bonds between the molecules of the blocks.
It's actually well known.
If you leave them laying like that for a while you won't be able to snap them appart anymore, they will be cold welded and inseperable
Reminds me of joining violin plates together. Basically, the front and back of a violin have seams down the center and the seam had to be #%@&ing perfect because it's carved so thin that any miniscule gap will cause it to open up while you're shaping them. So you use a wicked sharp jack plane to flatten the two surfaces to the point that when you rub them together they almost stick--not to the point where you can let go, but if you push them together and try to slide up or down it won't move because literally every bit of the two surfaces are touching. It's a wild thing to experience.
it's because of the same forces that hold the solid material of the block together. They are so smooth that, when pressed together like that, you have no air left between the pieces. That means to the molecules they see no other elements or structures, just the exact same material that it's made of. I believe this was a major concern in space at one point. They feared the hinges (of a hatch) would "weld" together due to it touching in a vacuum
Until it gets scratched or beat up and they no longer wring together so I’m guess it creating a vacuum that the outside pressure is able to keep it together. You know how you’re able to place a piece of paper under a full glass of water and the paper hold the liquid in. Fun fact you can do this with two flat surfaces that are of different materials.
My guess is incomplete cold welding. Rubbing them together likely disrupts the oxide layer in small random regions, allowing the two faces to bond in those regions. Essentially like little tack welds, strong enough to hold them together but weak enough to snap apart.
some are ceramic which cannot oxidize
I think oxide layer is thicker than what hes rubbing off
@@crochou8173 I can relate
@@thesuperginge1348Bruh
no
My mom was an inspector at an industrial ceramics manufacturer, and brought home 2 pieces of scrap silicon carbide discs/plates one day that had flat surfaces that did this same thing! I have always wondered how it works.
I remember doing this with these cool prism cubes I got, now I can’t as they are all scratched and chipped and dusty
probably smooth enough that metallic bonding can happen
I was always taught to slide them apart, not snap them apart.
Wring together, slide apart.
I'm a Metrology guy. You're correct. Snapping them apart may cause accidental scratching of the surfaces.
you slide into DMs, you snap back 5
Mk@@greenwave819
That's what I was thinking while watching him snap them back apart.
Another tidbit. Many people call precision gauge blocks "Jo Blocks" This is because the original inventor is a company in Sweden named CE Johansson many years ago. People shortened to be Jo Blocks. To this day, they still build some of the best and most accurate gauges and precision blocks.
Yup. Mått-Johansson worked with/for Henry Ford, which led to his fame in the field.
I did all the calculations and can confirm it is magic.
I like to think the first person to find this out was really, REALLY bored, decides to rub two blocks together caveman style, discovers magic
They stick together due to molecular metallic bonding. When you rub them that way, you are displacing any small amount of oxidation or contamination that may exist between them to allow the bond to occur.
This also works on ceramic gauge blocks...
Weak version of cold welding?
No it isn't. I watched something disproving that, but they can cold weld. Also it's not suction.
I was just thinking that like when metal sticks together in the vacuum of space. Even different metals fuse together.
Vacuum via suction
@@tgmtf5963We're not talking about your mom
@dam8072
Cool. Got a link?
It'd be interesting to see what other hypotheses are about.
It’s suction. And in a vacuum, individual items inside a vacuum that hold a vacuum if the bond is tight enough will still hold a vacuum.
They stick together due to the air trapped in porous pockets between them.
Creating a vacuum. Even on that microscopically finished surface, the small pockets that trap air become sealed when you twist them together. Hence why pulling them directly apart creates a vacuum which holds them together.
This is a core memory for me, as I remember my dad showing me this when I was a kid. He was a CNC engineer at Vickers, the tank manufacturer, building the challenger and chieftain tanks. It was insane to me that he was machining massive turrets in vertical borer machines that were the size of a house, to tolerances of thousands of an inch, and of course wringing these blocks together.
I had some of these when I was a kid. I worked out for myself they could stick together, but my 5 year old mind thought they were just very weak magnets. Had no idea what they were, but now I do!
No you don’t - no one knows why
@@Sockdarner007 Read it again And very slowly
@@Sockdarner007 Eh!?
@@frenot1770 LOL
I actually use to work at a lab where we would get these sent in to test for dimensional accuracy. Had to be accurate to something crazy like .00006 inches. Can't remember the exact tolerance, but these guys are ACCURATE
6 hundred thousandths. Damn. I was always curious about that. I used to use all kinds of instruments and gauges as a thread inspector for casing pipe used in the oil field. Of course we had our gauge blocks to zero out certain tools for specific thread cuts, but the smallest we'd go was into the thousandths. Interesting
@@I-C-Y-U-N-V yeah, they get really precise. The gage block comparator is always under scrutiny because if how accurate it needs to measure
”inches”?..
@@janus69tube yeah
What, no coefficient of thermal expansion? Is this pure Unobtainium?
Yeah scientists have a pretty good idea why that happens, the rub is what forces exactly are acting to cause it to happen. The biggest contributor is something many people will have heard of, cold welding. When you rub the blocks together you're wiping away some of the oxidation and oils, so the metal in one block doesn't know when it ends, and the other block begins, so they "cold weld" and start acting like they're one object. Of course there's still a lot of oxidation and oil so it's not a perfect connection and you can snap them apart with little effort.
The real question is, what is the difference between the blocks "wringed" together and one greater block.