I've seen a demo, something similar to what someone has already mentioned, of filling a plastic bag full of lead shots. The bag is then dropped from a known height (the higher, the better). There is a temperature change that occurs, especially if it's done several times.
Perhaps another variation, how about a piezoelectric crystal? You can take apart one of those grill lighters and hold the wires close together or hook the wires up to a voltmeter. When the "hammer" hits the crystal, some of the energy is transferred into electrical.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
Dwight Souder
Crestview HS
Ashland, OH
________________________________
From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu on behalf of Anthony Lapinski
Sent: Thu 1/28/2010 7:34 AM
To: tap-l@lists.ncsu.edu; phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
Subject: [Phys-l] heat/energy
I'm looking for some simple activities for a heat investigation/lab.
Specifically, when two objects collide, I want to show how kinetic energy
(loss) changes to work, sound, and heat. I thought about just hammering a
nail. They can clearly see the nail going into the wood and hear the
noise. I tried this (driving the nail about 1.5 cm), but could not really
sense a temperature change in the nail and hammer head. I then tried
pounding a lead brick with a sledgehammer, but both felt cool to the
touch. Maybe this has to be done for a longer time?
Does anyone have a demo/activity that "easily" shows a temperature rise
when two objects impact?