A crate sits on the bed of a flat-bed truck. The truck is initially at
rest and then moderately accelerates. The crate does not slide, but
simply follows the motion of the truck. Did the force of static friction
that accelerates the crate do any work?
I ask this because when a block is decelerated by kinetic friction, the
KE of the block decreases and the internal energy of the surfaces
involved increases. What is the energy transfer (or whatever your
favorite terminology) mechanism for the static friction example above?