elastic: KE also conserved inelastic: KE lost to heat/sound perfectly inelastic: stick together
Collision Type
Object 1 (blue)
m₁3.0 kg
v₁ᵢ+8.0 m/s
Object 2 (amber)
m₂5.0 kg
v₂ᵢ0.0 m/s
Σpᵢ—
Σpf—
KEᵢ—
KEf—
ΔKE (lost)—
elastic: billiard balls, atomic collisions
inelastic: most real collisions
perfectly inelastic: clay, coupled rail cars
p always conserved · KE only if elastic
Elastic collision: both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved. Choose a collision type, set the masses and velocities, then press Run to watch the collision animate.