Collisions

What Actually Collision is?

Theoretical Point of View
We study motion in which we try to discover
physical quantities which do not change in a
physical process.
Now we shall apply these laws to a commonly
encountered phenomena, named collisions.
Several games such as billiards, marbles, or
carrom involve collisions.

Graphical Point of View

Consider two masses M and m. the particle m is
moving with initial speed V(M)i . We shall consider m
to be at rest. In such situation, the mass M collides
with the stationary mass m and this is depicted as
y
follows:
V
M
(M)f

Time of Collision
V(M)i
M

m
V(m)i = 0

V(m)f

Here, M and m will fly off in different directions at time of

collision.

Practical Point of View

In the game of Billiards, when the cue ball collides
with any ball on the table, the other ball deflects
and moves away. This is the best example of
collisions.

Types of Collisions
o Elastic: Energy not dissipated out
of kinetic energy
o Inelastic: Some energy dissipated
to other forms

Elastic Collisions
Anelastic collisionis an encounter between two
bodies in which the total kinetic energy of the two
bodies after the encounter is equal to their total
kinetic energy before the encounter.
Elastic collisionsoccur only if there is no net
conversion of kinetic energy into other forms.

Elastic Collision: Practical Usage

Let a stationary ball, the Cue Ball, be moving at velocity vcue
8
To conserve both energy and momentum, cue ball stops dead, and 8-ball or any
arbitary takes off with vcue
8

Momentum conservation: mvcue = mvcue, after + mv8-ball

Energy conservation: mv2cue = mv2cue, after + mv28-ball
The only way v0 = v1 + v2 and v20 = v21 + v22 is if either v1 or v2 is 0.
Since cue ball cant move through 8-ball, cue ball gets stopped.

Desk Toy Physics

The same Elastic Collision principle applies to the
suspended-ball desk toy.
The balls continues to swing as the kinetic energy
isnt lost in the environment.
There is a condition that all balls have same
mass.

m
v

m
v

m
v

m
v
1
i
2
i
1
f
2
f
1
1
1
1
2
2
2

m
v
1
i
1
f
2222

Hints for Solving Problems

Both momentum and kinetic
energy are conserved

Momentum is a vector quantity

o Direction is important
o Be sure to have the correct signs

Solve the equations simultaneously

Inelastic Collisions
Aninelastic collision, in contrast to an elastic
collision, is acollisionin which kinetic energy is
not conserved due to the action of internal
friction.
Incollisionsof macroscopic bodies, some kinetic
energy is turned into vibrational energy of the
atoms, causing a heating effect, and the bodies
are deformed.

Inelastic Collision: Practical Usage

Examples: hacky sack, Velcro ball, ball of Clay

Momentum before = m1vinitial

Momentum after = (m1 + m2)vfinal = m1vinitial (because conserved)
Energy before = m1v2initial
Energy after = (m1 + m2)v2final + heat energy

m
v

m
v

(
m

)
v
1
iv
2
i
1
2
f

v
1
i
2
i

fm
m

More About Perfectly Inelastic Collisions

When two objects stick together
after the collision, they have
undergone a perfectly inelastic
collision
Conservation of momentum

Here, Kinetic
conserved

energy

is

NOT

Now, we will discuss about

Collisions in One Dimension

Collisions in Two Dimensions

Collisions in One Dimension

Consider two objects of massm1andm2, respectively, which are

free to move in 1-dimension. Suppose that these two objects
collide. Suppose, further, that both objects are subject to zero net
force when they are not in contact with one another.

Both before and after the collision, the two objects

move withconstant velocity. Letvi1 andvi2be the
velocities of the first and second objects,
respectively, before the collision. Likewise,
letvf1andvf2be the velocities of the first and
second objects, respectively, after the collision.
During the collision itself, the first object exerts a
large transitory forcef21on the second, whereas the
second object exerts an equal and opposite forcef12
= -f21on the first. In fact, we can model the collision
as equal and oppositeimpulsesgiven to the two
objects at the instant in time when they come

In case of completely inelastic collisions, When both the objects,

before collision, move in the same direction with different velocities,
after collision they acquire the same velocity and start moving
together in the same direction. The final velocity is given by:

The loss in Kinetic Energy is

In case of elastic collisions,

Collisions
in
Two
Dimensions
Given the initial conditions (i.e.
m1,m2, Vi1), we have a system
ofthreeequations [Eqs.(1), (2),
and (3)] andfourunknowns (i.e. 1,
2, Vf1, Vf1). Clearly, we cannot
uniquely solve such a system
without being given additional
information:e.g., the direction of
motion or speed of one of the
objects after the collision.
Equation 1

Equation 2

Equation 3

Figureshows a 2-dimensional totally

inelastic collision. In this case, the first
object, mass m1, initially moves along
thex-axis with speed Vi1. On the other
hand, the second object, massm2, initially
moves at an angle f to thex-axis with
speed Vf. After the collision, the two
objects stick together and move off at an
angleto
the-axis
with
speed
V f.
Momentum conservation along thex-axis
yields
Likewise, momentum conservation along the-axis gives

Clearly we must be able to find a unique solution for such a system.

Collisions Summary
In an elastic collision, both momentum and kinetic
energy are conserved
In a non-perfect inelastic collision, momentum is
conserved but kinetic energy is not. Moreover,
the
objects do not stick together
In a perfectly inelastic collision, momentum is conserved,
kinetic energy is not, and the two objects stick together
after the collision, so their final velocities are the same
Elastic and perfectly inelastic collisions are limiting cases,
most actual collisions fall in between these two types
Momentum is conserved in all collisions