Rough Surfaces

Abstract

Surface roughness is of interest for various reasons and the methods used, therefore, are dependent on the nature of technical fields concerned. For example, adsorption methods [79] are used for measuring the surface area of rough surfaces while other methods are designed to provide such information on surfaces as they may be needed for electromagnetic radiation [80], heat transfer [81], electrical contacts [82], friction and wear [83], and lubrication [84, 85]. Actual methods, besides the adsorption method, for quantitative studies of the macrofeatures may be mechanical [86,87], optical [88], electromechanical [89], or radiographic [90]. The advent of the scanning electron microscope should offer other possibilities, especially with respect to surfaces that are too soft for stylus incursions. The most recent developments of scanning probe microscopy have shed new light on micro- and nano-topograpical features.