Lubricants for Wheels

Which Lubricant Works the Best for Hobby Wheel Applications? William Pete, 11, Lakeville, Minn. Discovery Education "Educator" Award, Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge, 2006

Project background: After participating in derby car races, William wondered whether any of the lubricants used on the cars' wheels might reduce friction more than other lubricants. He hypothesized that dry lubricants, such as graphite, would work better than liquid lubricants, such as motor oil.

Tactics and results: William mounted a single wheel on an axle. He designed a machine that made the wheel start to spin and then allowed it to rotate freely. He applied five lubricants individually to the connection between the wheel and axle. After each application, he set the wheel in motion and counted how many rotations it made before coming to rest.

William found that graphite gave the wheel the greatest number of spins, followed by graphite with molybdenum, silicon, motor oil, and white Teflon.

Finalist William Pete gets hands-on as he demonstrates part of his project.