What is friction and why does rubbing your hands make them warm?
Tiny Mountains Warming
What is friction and why does rubbing your hands make them warm?
Slide your hands across each other, fast. Feel that warmth spreading through your palms? You didn't switch on a heater. You didn't run anywhere. And yet — heat, made from nothing but rubbing. There's a quiet little force behind it, and it follows you everywhere you go.
That force is called friction. Friction is what shows up whenever two surfaces drag against each other. It pushes back against sliding. It's the reason your shoes grip the floor instead of skating you across the room, and the reason a hockey puck eventually slows down and stops.
