A theory for elastic contact adhesion between a rigid sphere and an elastic foundation is developed. The theory derives relationships between the contact deformation and the externally applied force. The derivation is based on elastic contact between a sphere and a thin linearelastic foundation in which the strain energies are balanced by the work of indentation and the change in surface energy. Contacting regimes where there is either compressive strain energy or only tensile strain energy (pull-off regime) are both treated. The model is non-dimensionalized and an order of magnitude analysis is performed in order to develop simplified closed form solutions; the simplified model is then evaluated and compared to the full solution. This theory finds that the adhesion force is significantly larger for an elastic foundation in which the surface elements act independently as compared to more traditional solutions for elastic solids. The theory gives an adhesion force of F adh ffi 7pRDc:

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