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Professor Walter Lewin explaining one-dimensional elastic collisions. In any collision without an external force, momentum is conserved; but in an elastic collision, kinetic energy is also conserved. [1] Consider particles A and B with masses m A, m B, and velocities v A1, v B1 before collision, v A2, v B2 after collision.
0 < e < 1: This is a real-world inelastic collision, in which some kinetic energy is dissipated. The objects rebound with a lower separation speed than the speed of approach. e = 1: This is a perfectly elastic collision, in which no kinetic energy is dissipated. The objects rebound with the same relative speed with which they approached.
Some say that this behavior demonstrates the conservation of momentum and kinetic energy in elastic collisions. However, if the colliding balls behave as described above with the same mass possessing the same velocity before and after the collisions, then any function of mass and velocity is conserved in such an event. [ 3 ]
Elastic collision If all of the total kinetic energy is conserved (i.e. no energy is released as sound, heat, etc.), the collision is said to be perfectly elastic. Such a system is an idealization and cannot occur in reality, due to the second law of thermodynamics .
An inelastic collision, in contrast to an elastic collision, is a collision in which kinetic energy is not conserved due to the action of internal friction. In collisions of macroscopic bodies, some kinetic energy is turned into vibrational energy of the atoms, causing a heating effect, and the bodies are deformed.
In elastic collisions, the kinetic energy is conserved, but in inelastic collisions some mechanical energy may be converted into thermal energy. The equivalence between lost mechanical energy and an increase in temperature was discovered by James Prescott Joule.
Elastic scattering is a form of particle scattering in scattering theory, nuclear physics and particle physics. In this process, the internal states of the particles involved stay the same. In the non-relativistic case, where the relative velocities of the particles are much less than the speed of light , elastic scattering simply means that ...
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 24 February 2025. Law of physics and chemistry This article is about the law of conservation of energy in physics. For sustainable energy resources, see Energy conservation. Part of a series on Continuum mechanics J = − D d φ d x {\displaystyle J=-D{\frac {d\varphi }{dx}}} Fick's laws of diffusion ...