The blame has been pinned, squarely and often, on inadequate oversight of U.S. financial institutions, which created ever more complex and risky mortgage instruments, lured people to buy homes they could not afford, and brought the economy crashing to the ground.
Motion on the Earth does not take place in a vacuum. When one thing moves, it moves through or across another. When a wheel turns on an axle, the two surfaces rub against one another. This is called dry friction. Grease can be used to separate the solid metal parts, but this just reduces the problem to layers within the grease sliding past one another.
In this project, you will be studying kinetic friction (also called sliding friction). When two objects are moving relative to one another, kinetic friction converts some of the kinetic energy of that motion into heat. You can feel the heat of kinetic friction if you rub your hands together. The same thing happens when two objects are sliding past one another-for example, when you push a box across the floor. Part of the energy of your pushing moves the box, and part of the energy is lost to kinetic friction.