Ball bearing is without doubt one of the most widespread mechanical components. 

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But when a ball bearing is subjected to high speeds, heavy loads or a harsh external environment, its behavior remains misunderstood.

Under these extreme conditions, bearings may become unstable or deteriorate. Many space missions have been disrupted or even aborted, precisely because of bearing performance problems, with very serious consequences in scientific, technical, political and, above all, financial terms. Under such conditions, classical approaches to engineer or select bearings do not work.

The common feature of most bearing damages is the kinematics of the balls.

However, this kinematics is difficult to understand and to model accurately. In fact, it had never been properly described to date.