The concept of "friction of distance" is based on the notion that distance usually requires some amount of effort, money, and/or energy to overcome. Because of this "friction," spatial interactions will tend to take place more often over shorter distances; quantity of interaction will decline with distance.
Distance will have more of an attenuating effect on some types of interaction than on others. For example, in purchasing gasoline one will tend to patronize stations that are located nearby rather than traveling a considerable distance for fuel. On the other hand, to obtain open heart surgery one may be less concerned with travel distance, and the friction of distance may play a lesser role in one's decision as to where to have the surgery.
A related concept is that of a nearby "frictionless zone" in which distance and the costs of overcoming it will seem unimportant. In purchasing gasoline, for example, price per gallon may be the only real consideration in selecting from among stations that are fairly close together. For open heart surgery, the frictionless zone may be very large indeed.
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