Micro-scale track · specimen 04-TR
Your tires are evaporating.
Every revolution grinds 30–40 nanometres of tread into dust. Zoom into the contact patch at 50,000× and watch the rubber leave.
MAG ×50,000
FIELD 1.8 µm
Live shearCruising
500 nm
488
nm shed / second
Road speed90 km/h
Driving style
Steady roll. Micro-slip only inside the contact patch.
Depth per revolution
39nm
Revolutions
12.5rev/s
Mass loss
0.836mg/s
Per 100 km
3.3g
Shed in this session
0.00mg
≈ 836 particles/s entering the air and stormwater
1 kg of tread gone after
29.9kkm
30–40 nm per turn
Thinner than a virus. Invisible per revolution, 1.2 kg over a tire's life.
Braking is 46× worse
Slip ratio spikes, the patch heats, and rubber tears in sheets instead of flakes.
It doesn't disappear
Tire wear particles are a leading source of road microplastics in waterways.