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Encyclopedic overview
Close-up of a disc brake on a Renault car Location of a Disc Brake inside the Wheel assembly of the Vehicle.
A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc (sometimes called a [brake] rotor) to create friction. There are two basic types of brake pad friction mechanisms: abrasive friction and adherent friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hold it stationary. The energy of motion is converted into heat, which must be dissipated to the environment. Disc brakes are found in more sophisticated automobiles and are more expensive to manufacture than a drum brake. Disc brakes are also found on some higher-end bicycles.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “disc brake” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.