Thermal 3

How hot will a friction device become as a climber descends from a cliff?

A rock climber descends a cliff at constant velocity using a friction device. There is so much rope hanging below the climber that she is able to descend 20 m without holding the rope (never do this). Calculate the rise in temperature of the device.

The climber has mass = 55 kg
The friction device has mass 200g and is made of Aluminium with specific heat capacity 900 Jkg-1K-1