Adhesive—Adherend Interface and Interphase

The science of adhesion is multidisciplinary in scope. Both chemical and physical forces contribute to adhesion and lack of adhesion. It is impossible to understand adhesive forces without an appreciation of both chemical and physical interactions. It is a goal of adhesion research to separate and measure the individual factors which lead to adhesion. This commendable goal has been attempted by some and achieved by few. Two difficulties have always hampered such a correlation. First, it is difficult to develop physical test methods which scientifically measure adhesive forces. Second, it has required decades for the development of analytical techniques which can begin to provide researchers with information about the nature of the chemical and physical forces at work at an interface or in an interphase.