Physics Material

The Physics Material is used to adjust friction and bouncing effects of colliding objects.

To create a Physics Material select Assets->Create->Physics Material from the menu bar. Then drag the Physics Material from the Project View onto a Collider in the scene.


The Physics Material Inspector

Properties

Dynamic FrictionThe friction used when already moving. Usually a value from 0 to 1. A value of zero feels like ice, a value of 1 will make it come to rest very quickly unless a lot of force or gravity pushes the object.
Static FrictionThe friction used when an object is laying still on a surface. Usually a value from 0 to 1. A value of zero feels like ice, a value of 1 will make it very hard to get the object moving.
BouncinessHow bouncy is the surface? A value of 0 will not bounce. A value of 1 will bounce without any loss of energy.
Friction CombineHow the friction of two colliding objects is combined.
AverageThe two friction values are averaged.
MinimumThe smallest of the two values is used.
MaximumThe largest of the two values is used.
MultiplyThe friction values are multiplied with each other.
 When two bodies are in contact, bounciness and friction modes are applied individually to each agent. So, when body A has mode Average and body B has mode Multiply, then A is going to behave according to average parameters and B according to multiplied parameters.
Bounce CombineHow the bounciness of two colliding objects is combined. It has the same modes as Friction Combine Mode
Friction Direction 2The direction of anisotropy. Anisotropic friction is enabled if this direction is not zero. Dynamic Friction 2 and Static Friction 2 will be applied along Friction Direction 2.
Dynamic Friction 2If anisotropic friction is enabled, DynamicFriction2 will be applied along Friction Direction 2.
Static Friction 2If anisotropic friction is enabled, StaticFriction2 will be applied along Friction Direction 2.

Details

Friction is the quantity which prevents surfaces from sliding off each other. This value is critical when trying to stack objects. Friction comes in two forms, dynamic and static. Static friction is used when the object is lying still. It will prevent the object from starting to move. If a large enough force is applied to the object it will start moving. At this point Dynamic Friction will come into play. Dynamic Friction will now attempt to slow down the object while in contact with another.

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Page last updated: 2013-09-26