You’re getting warm
On a chilly day, there’s an easy way to make your cold hands feel
warmer. Rub them together—fast! Why does rubbing your hands make them
warmer?
You are made up of molecules, just like all other kinds of matter around
you. The molecules that are you hold onto each other very tightly. But
they are always moving— jiggling and spinning around. The molecules
have energy.
When you rub your hands together, you create friction. You make the
molecules in your skin bump and push each other. That bumping and
pushing makes the molecules speed up—it gives them more energy. You
feel the energy as heat. The faster the molecules move, the warmer you
get. So if you rub your hands together hard enough, they won’t feel
chilly any more. The molecules will move fast enough to make your hands
feel warm.
