Question

When you hit a nail into a board using a hammer the head of the nail gets warm. In terms of kinetic and thermal energy describe why you think this happens?

Answer 1

When we hit the nail, the particulate objects are set into kinetic energy and they begin to move. However, due to the rigid structure, the particulate objects cannot move from their equilibrium position, and therefore, it is dissipated through heat.

Answer 2

The kinetic energy is transferred to thermal energy through friction