Wear has major impacts on economic efficiency and health. All movable parts are affected, including such things as bearings in a wind power plants or artificial hip joints. However, the exact cause of wear is still unclear. Scientists of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) recently proved that the effect occurs at first contact, and always takes place at the same point of the material. Their findings could help develop optimized materials and reduce consumption of energy and raw materials. The researchers present results of two studies in the Scripta Materialia.