# A local view on the role of friction and shape

## TL;DR

This paper emphasizes the importance of local contact models over simple frictionless sphere analogies in understanding granular packings, highlighting a shift towards more detailed contact formation analysis.

## Contribution

It introduces the need to move beyond traditional frictionless sphere models to local contact formation models in granular physics.

## Key findings

- Friction and shape significantly influence granular packing behavior.
- Local contact models provide better understanding than global analogies.
- A paradigm shift in granular physics modeling is proposed.

## Abstract

Leibniz said "Naturam cognosci per analogiam": nature is understood by making analogies. This statement describes a seminal epistemological principle. But one has to be aware of its limitations: quantum mechanics for example at some point had to push Bohr's model of the atom aside to make progress. This article claims that the physics of granular packings has to move beyond the analogy of frictionless spheres, towards local models of contact formation.