Tactile impression and friction of water on human skin
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Measurement of Vibration Detection Threshold and Tactile Spatial Acuity in Human Subjects
Published on: September 1, 2016
Yoshimune Nonomura1, Takaharu Fujii, Yuichiro Arashi
1Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yamagata University, Yonezawa, Japan. nonoy@yz.yamagata-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
Water has a unique touch as well as characteristic physical properties. However, nobody knows the real identity of its touch. Here, we show that water creates a stick-slip feel when a small amount is rubbed using fingertip on an artificial skin that mimics the structure of human skin. The results of frictional analyses predict that this stick-slip feel is caused by a drastic change in frictional resistance. The present result is valuable for biologists and robot engineers as well as cognitive scientists and tribologists, because it is a new example of stick-slip phenomena on biological surfaces. The tactile texture of this most familiar material could also be applied to consumer products or virtual reality systems.
Related Concept Videos
Characteristics of Dry Friction
Before the wheelbarrow starts moving, the static frictional force acts tangentially to the contact surface, opposing the force that is about to induce the motion. This frictional force prevents the...
Frictional Force
Dry Friction
To illustrate this concept, imagine a wooden crate resting on a rough, non-uniform horizontal surface. When an external force is applied to...
Sensory Functions of the Skin
There are two main categories of receptors on the skin: capsulated and non-capsulated. The non-capsulated ones are mainly the pain receptors. The capsulated ones can be further categorized based on the...
Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity
The various IMFs between identical molecules of a substance are examples of cohesive forces. The molecules within a liquid are surrounded by other molecules and are attracted equally in all directions by the cohesive forces within the liquid. However, the molecules on the surface of a liquid are attracted only by about one-half as many molecules. Because of the unbalanced molecular attractions on the surface molecules, liquids contract to form a shape that minimizes the number...
Surface Tension of Fluid
Surface tension varies with...
