What is Inelastic: Definition and 494 Discussions

I'm currently trying to make a proof to convince myself that when two object collide and stick afterwards, there is maximum energy loss. I've been thinking about it and trying to come up with a mathematical proof to solidify the idea in my head. Please tell me if there's any errors in my...

1. The problem statement. Two boys are sliding toward each other on a frictionless, ice-covered parking lot. Jacob, mass 45 kg, is gliding to the right at 7.98 m/s, and Ethan, mass 31.0 kg, is gliding to the left at 10.7 m/s along the same line. When they meet, they grab each other and hang on...

When following solutions like this link: http://physics.about.com/od/physicsmtop/g/PerfectlyInelasticCollision.htm I understand that energy is lost, but it doesn't necessarily show that this is MAXIMUM energy loss, just that there is energy lost. How would you go about proving that more energy...

1. This was a hard test question that I took partial credit on. I want to fully understand what I did wrong so that I’m fluid with the concept. I’m also new to this forum. I love constructive criticism too! lol Zombie Apocalypse has arrived and the war has begun. Your task as a physics student...

Let me preface this by saying that this is a take home quiz and I'd really appreciate it if you didn't actually answer the question, I have outlined what I've done and what I plan to do to get an answer and I'm looking for input on my problem solving process. I have a problem that I've been...

Homework Statement If two objects are moving towards each other with two different velocities and two different mass then crash and stick together, find the force acted upon each object during the collision if the collision occurred over some time "t" Homework Equations m1v1+m2v2 =...

Is momentum really conserved in a perfectly inelastic collision? By definition there is no conservation of kinetic energy, but isn't conservation of momentum dependent on conservation of energy? Shouldn't a system whose model takes into account conversion of kinetic energy into heat and...

Inelastic scattering is the scattering event in which heat is produced. But we know that heat is also due to particles' vibration. Therefore when the vibration is made in target by incident particle, the target would vibrate (in other words, phonons or heat are produced). Thus heat is a type of...

Hi, I am slightly confused regarding the termenology elastic and inelastic. My focus is on the interactions, Rayleigh, photoelectric, comptonscattering and pair production. I have read around the internet and have some question I did not fully got answered. 1) Is Elastic = Coherent and...

Homework Statement Using the equation for the final velocity of an inelastic collision, show that mechanical energy is not conserved in the collision. (Do this only with variables.)Homework Equations Vf = (m1v1i + m2v2i)/(m1 + m2) KE = (1/2)mv2 TME = KE + PEThe Attempt at a Solution I honestly...

Homework Statement 2 particles travel towards each other at 10ms-1. Particle 1 has a mass of 10kg and particle 2 has a mass of 30kg. It is an inelastic collision. Find the magnitude of the Impulse of particle 1 and 2. Homework Equations I=Ft=mv-mu m1u1+m2u2=(m1+m2)V The Attempt at...

Homework Statement A small wooden block with mass .8kg is suspeded from the lower end of a light cord that is 1.6m long. The block is initially at rest. A bullet with mass 12g is fired at the block with a horizontal velocity vi. The bullet strikes the block and becomes embedded in it. After...

I am unsure how to proceed with this problem because it is asking for the final velocity of one of the two objects given the initial velocities. This is an inelastic collision not a completely inelastic collision, which means the two objects do not stick together. The book makes a distinction...

These are the instructions: What to do: 1. Connect the two photogates to DIG 1 and DIG 2 ports of the LabQuest device. Connect this device to a computer and turn on the device. 2. Open Logger Pro 3.8.4 software. Click Folder icon/symbol. Open Probes & Sensors > Photogates > Two Gate Timing. 3...

When doing practice problems from my textbook, I often get confused with both of them. MOre specifically there are usually formulas which pertain to only one of those types of collisions. Ex: (v_1-v_2)_i = -(v_1-v_2)_f Does anyone know more of these types of formulas, or tricks to...

Homework Statement An unlikely weapon was once proposed which had all of the people in China to jump up and down simultaneously. Let us say there are 2 billion people (2.0 x 10^9) with an average mass of 50 kg. They all climb ladders which are 1 meter tall. At a particular instant they all...

Homework Statement Which head-on collision between a small car and a large truck causes a larger conversion of kinetic energy: one in which their initial momenta are the same magnitude, or one in which their initial kinetic energies are the same? Assume the same kinetic energy for the...

Homework Statement An object at rest in deep space explodes into two parts converting some of its original mass into kinetic energy of the fragments. Both fragments move at a speed of 0.60 c relative to the position of the original object. Each fragment has a rest mass of 3.0 kg...

Here is the problem I am trying Two blocks A and B of same mass M are connected with each other with an ideal string of length 2l passing over an ideal pulley. The block A is connected to a light pan C with an ideal string as shown in figure. A particle of mass \frac{M}{2} is dropped on...

I solved the question , but i need to check it with you guys ... I believe there is something wrong with part b . Homework Statement The 15000kg train A is running at 1.5 m/s on the horizontal tack (to the right) when it encounters a 12000kg train B running at 0.75m/s toward it (to the...

Homework Statement A bullet with mass mA and velocity vA makes a completely inelastic collision with a still pendulum of mass B. After the collision, the pendulum swings to a height of y from its equilibrium with the bullet in it. In terms of y, mB and mA, what is the initial velocity? My...

1. Two carts, each of mass M, travel towards each other on a frictionless air track, one with velocity V, and the other with -3V. They collide and stick together. How much kinetic energy is lost in the collision? 2. P = mv, KE=1/2mv2 3. Initial KE of the system is the sum of the kinetic...

Homework Statement A block of mass m slides along a frictionless track with speed vm. It collides with a stationarty block of mass M. Find an expression for the minimum value of vm that will allow the second block to circle the loop the loop without falling off if the collision is perfect...

Ok - this is a moderately tough question which I can't figure out. So I am trying to work on a simplified model to start with. I imagine a solid, very massive impenetrable object. I have a tube or any long object which can exhibit some elastic behavior and also plastic behavior...

Two objects of mass M (= 1 kg) each travel with identical speed (|v1| = |v2| = 3 m/s) making an angle of θ relative to the x-axis. After they collide with each other, they travel as one object of mass 2M and with a velocity v3 (|v3| = 2 m/s) in the horizontal direction. What is the value...

Homework Statement A ball of clay of mass m travels with velocity v in a path tangent to a disk of radius R and mass M. The clay collides with the disk tangentially to its outer rim ( a totally inelastic collision) and the clay and disk begins to spin about the axis. a) What is the final...

Homework Statement In a test of a car seat belt system, a dummy of mass 55kg in a car seat is accelerated to a speed of 35m/s before it hits a brick wall. The seat belt allows the dummy to move forward relative to the seat by a distance of 0.60 m. Calculate, (a) The deceleration of the dummy...

Homework Statement A 55kg man is running in the positive y direction at 4 m/s. He is tackled by a 115kg man running 8.5 m/s at a 140 degree angle. What is the speed and direction after the inelastic collision? Homework Equations p=mv p = sqrt of x^2 + y^2 The Attempt at a Solution...

I have problems with a(ii). (please view the first image.) Now I have found that w = (13-8e)u/7 and v = (20e+13)u/7 What I did is like this: (Using NEL) v = 4ue Where the LHS is actually v-0 because I assume Q = 0. (20e+13)u/7 = 4ue e = 33/28 >1 ∴ e cannot exist. 1. Is...

Hi, first post on the forum! We know that kinetic energy is not conserved in an inelastic collision, and how much of the kinetic energy is lost we can find it out through applying conservation of momentum. But one thing that I don't understand is how does the system know exactly how much...

When heat and acoustic energy are radiated from the system, doesn't this mean that the mass must have decreased as we know E = mc^2? I must be wrong, but I can't see where.

Homework Statement Two pendulums collide and stick together after being released from rest at angles given. (See diagram) What is the final swing angle of the stuck-together masses ? (I'm assuming my teacher means the angle when they get to the highest point in their swing) In what direction...

I'm finding it difficult to understand how momentum is conserved in an inelastic collision, but kinetic energy isn't. I understand some energy leaves the system in the form of sound and heat. If we look at the momentum of the system before and after the collision, P=mV, they are equal, due to...

Okay so my physics teacher assigned us with some problems to complete and one of them in particular is really confusing me. Attached is a picture of the problem. It just really throws me off when we have to keep it in variable form. So if someone can just walk me through it a little it would be...

"A cart of mass m moving at velocity v to the right collides with a stationary cart" 1. "A cart of mass m moving at velocity v to the right collides with a stationary cart of mass 2m on an air track, and the two stick together after collision. What is their velocity after colliding?" 2...

Homework Statement It is desired to study the low-lying excited states of 35Cl (1.219, 1.763, 2.646, 2.694, 3.003, 3.163 MeV) through the 32S (alpha,proton) reaction. a) With incident alpha particles of 5.000 MeV, which of these excited states can be reached? b) Again with 5.000 MeV incident...

A 25000 kg truck moving at 40 m/s on a road angled at 17° hits a 10000 kg van moving at 25 m/s on a road angled at 60° at an intersection between two the two roads. Since this is a two-dimensional perfectly inelastic collision, what is the final velocity of the wreck? Not sure about which...

[b]A hockey player with a mass of 30.0 kg is initially moving at 2.00 m/s to the east. He intercepts and catches a puck initially moving at 35.0 m/s at an angle of θ = 60 degrees. Assume that the puck's mass is 0.18 kg and the player and the puck form a single object for a few seconds at the...

Homework Statement Andy (mass 92 kg) and Sam (mass 75 kg) are both on toboggans (each toboggan has a mass of 4.6 kg) traveling on a crash course towards each other. Just as they hit, they lock hands so they move together as one. What is their new speed? In what direction do they travel? mA =...

Having problem with task b). Any suggestions?

Homework Statement We did a lab in my PHYS with Caclulus I class involving a collision of cart A (given an initial push) and cart B (initially at rest) on a relatively smooth surface. *At the moment of the collision, the two carts become attached, providing a completely inelastic collision*...

I am studying the collision from the text, in which they said inelastic collision is the case when two collide objects stick together after collision. But in the class, the instructor said two objects stuck together is not the sufficient condition for inelastic collision, we should figure out if...

Homework Statement Determine whether velocity is conserved in elastic and inelastic collisions? Use your experimental data to support your results. Homework Equations I have my data charts which show that velocity is not conserved in inelastic collisions, but in elastic collisions some...

Homework Statement The professor very generally created a very simple conceptual problem as a basis for harder ones, but I don't understand how to answer it. A piece of clay, with mass (m) and speed (v) collides with a motionless stick of length L (with uniform mass density and total...

Homework Statement A thin target of lithium is bombarded by helium nuclei of energy E0. The lithium nuclei are initially at rest in the target but are essentially unbound. When a Helium nucleus enters a lithium nucleus, a nuclear reaction can occur in which the compound necleus splits apart...

The problem : 3 identical balls lie on a smooth horizontal surface, the 3rd ball moving with a velocity v while the other 2 are stationary and inter-connected via a taut inelastic string. Ball 3 strikes ball 2 normally making angle = 30 degrees with the string. Energy is conserved. We need to...

In an inelastic collision momentum is conserved, but kinetic energy isn't? Here is a simple example about my issue with this. 1g ball (ball A) moving west at 10m/s hits another 1g ball (ball B) moving east at 10m/s. After the collision, ball A moves east at 3m/s, and ball B moves west at...

Hi all. I'm studying deep inelastic cross section in parton model. In particular I'm referring to Halzen-Martin's "Quarks and leptons" section 8.5, but I think this is a quite generale procedure. In studying the deep inelastic scattering by e- on proton it cuts off the electron part and work...

Inelastic scattering of Xray photons from electrons give them a wavelength shift, the Compton effect. The shift is inverse proportional with the mass of the electron. Now, if visible light scatters inelastic from electrons in graphene what will be the wavelength shift? The electrons in graphene...

Preparing for a classical prelim by going over previous exams. Homework Statement A relativistic meter stick moves with speed v in the lab. It collides head on with an impenetrable wall completely inelastically, thereby coming to rest in the lab frame. What is the maximum length of the stick...