Friction induced vibrations and self organization : mechanics and non equilibrium thermodynamics of sliding contact Friction induced instabilities can lead to vibrations which are often undesirable (e.g. car brake squeal). On the other hand they may be useful (e.g. music sound generation). New materials capable to resist wear and heal minor damage (self healing) in themselves can be developed if the ability for self organization is embedded into the material. This book emphasizes thermodynamic analysis of friction induced instabilities vibrations and self organization as well as fundamental properties of friction and wear related to these This book is different from numerous other textbooks and monographs about friction. In this work we study various effects and manifestations of friction in order to identify those properties of friction that are invariant for different friction mechanisms and thus constitute the very essence of friction as a physical phenomenon. By doing that we are making the case that friction is a fundamental force of nature whose properties can be deduced directly from the second law of thermodynamics rather than treated as a collection of phenomenological unrelated effects and empirical facts