Collisions Definition and 693 Threads

Okay here goes... I'm having a hard time trying to logically understand how momentum is conserved for inelastic collisions, even though energy is lost. Since energy is lost (in the form of kinetic energy) how can the initial momentum be the same as final momentum. I know I may be confusing...

Homework Statement This question is related to an in-class experiment. The lab involves bouncing a ball and using a motion sensor which creates a graph representing the motion. The question is: Is the principle of conservation of momentum violated in this collision (the ball colliding with...

I have never done relativistic collisions when a photon is involved, and it's messing wtih me. For example, I have a photon colliding with a pion moving at a speed 3c/4. Is it possible to use a frame so that the pion is at rest? I think not, because the momentum of the photon is the same in...

I have been studying the future physics, well, high-energy experiments that will succeed LHC, sLHC, ILC, CLIC, LHeC, etc. Experiments that will complete the electroweak theory and the Standard Model with very high precision and help toward supersymmetry, extra-dimensions, dark matter, dark...

Torque in Physics Simulation Let's say there is flat floor at y=0 . There is a rectangle of which two vertices are at (0,0) and (w,h). There is a ball in mid-air. Someone let's it fall and the ball falls until it hits the (w,h) vertex of the rectangle. The push-back force is very small and can...

so i have a problem which can be formulated in the following way: assume you have n particles and you know the initial position of each. There is some probability distribution P which contains the probability of having a particular velocity. Now, each particle has this same probability...

1/2m1v1,o=1/2m1v1f^2 +1/2m2v2f^2 and m1v1,0= m1v1f + m2v2f any idea on how to solve for m1v1f and m2v2f

Why is the angle between products in non head on, perfectly elastic collisions always 90 degrees?

I am imagining the collision between two subatomic particles. For the particles to have collided, do we say that the spatial wave functions for each particle must have collapsed to the same point? Or do we say that the particles are just in a very close vicinity, and the wave functions need not...

Can someone please 'stupify' the definitions of an elastic and inelastic collision? Do objects bouncing off of each other undergo elastic collisions, while objects which stick together undergo completely inelastic collisions? This concept is very confusing to me :S thank you!

I am writing a 2D simulation that involves multiple circles colliding with inclined planes. I want to collision response to be as true-to-life as possible but have hit a bit of a snag. Depending on the velocity of the circles, when colliding with the inclined planes, they may either bounce...

ok so, i have an assignment due tomorrow, i know, late starting, but i can't figure out how to rearange the kinetic energy and momentum equation to get the v1f and v2f i know that you have to find one term in the for of the other, but i don't know how to rearange my equation so that i have...

If the gun club members shoot at steel targets and the bullets are traveling between 800 and 1300 fps and weigh between 112 and 220 grains how far will the fragments travel if they are less than 10 grains in size. The impact on the steel is at approximately 90 deg. So far testing has shown...

Why is it that kinetic energy is conserved - for example during collisions? Or can one prove in general that for m_1\frac{\mathrm{d}v_1}{\mathrm{d}t}=\frac{\alpha(\vec{s}_2-\vec{s}_1)}{|\vec{s}_1-\vec{s}_2|^3}...

Homework Statement 2 objects going in opposite directions at the same (relativistic) speed crash and stick together. The second object has half the mass of the first. What is the mass of the resulting object? Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution Okay if objects momentum...

Homework Statement a billiard ball of mass of 0.115kg moves with a velocity of 12.5m/s toward a stationary billiard ball of identical mass and strikes it in a head on collision. the first billiard ball comes to a complete stop. determine whether the collision was elastic. Homework...

Can someone please tell me the history of high-energy electron-positron collisions? In specific when was it discovered that such collisions can create hadrons? Any information would be useful. Thanks.

"elastic off-center central collisions" (?) Hi, I'm new to the forums and, to a large extent, to physics in general. Anyway, I've been interested in the dynamics of simple collisions of spherical particles in 2D and 3D space. I've been searching for information on the collisions of this...

I read some notes answering a question about how a Z boson is made in a proton anti-proton collision and it said that the quark antiquark collision is a very rare event because the antiquark has a small parton distribution function. Surely the up anti up(or down antidown) parton distributions...

Homework Statement hi everyone ,, how are you all ? ,, i have these two equations and i don't know how to get them : v1f=((m1-m2)/(m1+m2))*v1i +(2m2/(m1+m2))*v2i V2f=((2m1/m1+m2))*v1i+((m2-m1)/(m1+m2))*v2i Homework Equations m1v1i+m2v2i=m1v1f+m2v2f (conservation of momentum)...

I just learned that, in elastic collisions, the total momentum in the system is preserved while a certain amount of kinetic energy is lost. I know that kinetic is energy may be lost in the form of heat or sound. Isn't the same energy responsible for keeping the two objects in motion and...

I wonder how inelastic a collision can be? I am thinking about a gas at room temperature; for the sake of argument let it be helium, where the first excited state is well above the available collision energies. Even in a low-velocity collision, it seems there ought to be some distortion of the...

In Pair Production where a high energy photon collides with a nucleus a positron and an electron may result. But I have also come across references that say that two high energy photons can collide with each other to produce an electron and a positron. Is this correct?

Homework Statement The red chief jumps into his heavy (20kg) jeep and presses the gas pedal. Instantly the engine revs and the vehicle begins to pull away. The chief has an interesting habit. He monitors the gauges in his vehicle in intervals of exactly 10 seconds and always drives...

1. Homework Statement [/b] Block 1, with mass m1 and speed 3.6 m/s, slides along an x-axis on a frictionless floor and then undergoes a one-dimensional elastic collision with stationary block 2, with mass m2 = 0.69m1. The two blocks then slide into a region where the coefficient of kinetic...

help! Collisions between asteroids? Homework Statement In outer space a rock with mass 6 kg, and velocity < 4200, -3100, 3000 > m/s, struck a rock with mass 18 kg and velocity < 250, -280, 360 > m/s. After the collision, the 6 kg rock's velocity is < 3700, -2500, 3500 > m/s. What is...

collisions and "changing frame of reference?" Homework Statement A 6.0Kg trolley moving at 6.0 m/s right overtakes and collies with a 2kg trolley moving 2m/s right in the same direction on the same track. The collision is cushioned by a perfectly elastic bumper attached to one of the trolleys...

Homework Statement A bullet of mass 0.125 kg traveling horizontally at a speed of 250 m/s embeds itself in a block of mass 3.5 kg that is sitting at rest on a nearly frictionless surface. (a) What is the speed of the block after the bullet embeds itself in the block? v = ? m/s (b)...

I have read that when a gas atom or molecule collides with the wall of a container that the collision is completely elastic, and that the gas particle has the same energy after the collision as it did before the collision. I don't understand how it could transfer pressure to the container wall...

I think of all of the energy losses associated with macroscopic collisions and wonder how significant this effect is in the subatomic realm of inelastic particle collisions. For example, consider the inelastic pion photoproduction reaction: \gamma + p \rightarrow p + \pi^{0}. Obviously, there...

Hi! I'm writing a pool simulation program and have an awful problem with my ball collisions (elastic collisions). The theory (in terms of vectors) is that when two balls collide you take the line between their centers and the velocity components which are perpendicular to this line are...

Homework Statement Q: Consider two identical particles A and B have the same mass m in the inertial frame R where B is at rest. The two particles collide and their trajectories after impact are symmetrical with respect to the incident direction. Let t be the angle between the trajectories...

I've been trying solve this problem for a long time but can't figure it out. A 3.45 g ball is moving toward a stationary 5.82 g ball with a velocity of 45 m/s. The first ball bounces off at an angle of 36 degrees from its original path with a velocity of 28 m/s. What is the magnitude and...

A 2.0 kg block of wood rests on a tabletop. A 7.0 kg bullet is shot straight up through a hole in the table beneath the block. The bullet lodges in the block, and the block flies 25 cm above the tabletop. How fast was the bullet going initially? i tried using this formula: p=...

Homework Statement A hockey puck moving along the +x axis at 0.5 m/s collides into another puck that is at rest. The pucks have equal mass. The first puck is deflected 37degrees below the +x axis and moves off at 0.36 m/s. Find the speed and direction of the second puck after the collision...

A proton (mass 1 u) moving at 7.80 x10^6m/s collides elastically and head-on with a second particle moving in the opposite direction at 2.40x10^6 m/s. After the collision, the proton is moving opposite to its initial direction at 6.60x10^6m/s. Find the mass and final velocity of the second...

Homework Statement A ball of mass 4.7 kg moving with speed of 1.9 m/s in the x-direction hits a wall and bounces back with the same speed in the -x-direction. What is the change of momentum of the ball? And in what direction? Homework Equations p=mv The Attempt at a Solution...

Homework Statement Ok, I have a couple problems that I'm having trouble with. Bear with me, my physics teacher can be a little creative...lol. 1. I am an expert swan diver. If I am jumping off a 3m diving board, what is the velocity with which I strike the water? If the water brings me to...

Homework Statement A 5.0-gram particle moving 60 m/s collides with a 2.0-gram particle initially at rest. After the collision each of the particles has a velocity that is directed 30° from the original direction of motion of the 5.0-gram particle. What is the speed of the 2.0-gram particle...

Homework Statement In an elastic collision between a proton and a helium nucleus at rest, the proton was scattered through an angle of 45 degrees. What proportion of its initial energy did it lose? what was the recoil angle of the helium nucleus? Homework Equations...

Homework Statement compute the average time between collisions T for conduction electrons in copper. Homework Equations Vd=-e*E*T/(Me) Where e is electron's charge E is electric Field T is what I'm solving for And Me is mass of the electron Vd=I/PA The Attempt at a Solution...

Homework Statement Two particles with masses 2m and 3m are moving toward each other along the x-axis with the same initial speeds v. Particle 2m is traveling to the left, while particle 3m is traveling to the right. They undergo an elastic, glancing collision such that particle 2m is moving...

Homework Statement In a classic curing shot, the shot stone, traveling at 6.0m/s [E] hits a stationary stone. The target stone is propelled at a velocity of 2.0 m/s [East30degreesSouth] What is the velocity of the shot stone after the collision? (Assume the collision is fully elastic)Homework...

Homework Statement A 0.06kg tennis ball, moving with a speed of 2.50 m/s, collides head-on with a 0.09kg ball initially moving away from it at a speed of 1.15m/s.Assuming a perfectly elastic collision,what are the speed and direction of each ball after the collision? Homework Equations...

Homework Statement Assume an elastic collision (ignoring friction and rotational motion). A queue ball initially moving at 4.3 m/s strikes a stationary eight ball of the same size and mass. After the collision, the queue ball’s final speed is 2.3 m/s . Find the queue ball’s angle with...

Homework Statement Minnie mouse (mass m=37.5g) has run to the top of a curved frictionless wedge (height H1=1.15m) She slides down the track and makes a perfectly elastic collision with mickey mouse (mass m=69.8 g) who is at rest. Mickey flies off the table (height H2= .993 m) above the floor...

hi, i was just wondering... if a heavy truck collides with a lighter vehicle, and both are traveling at the SAME speed, would the force of impact be: the SAME for both vehicles, greater on the lighter car, or would the vehicles experience no force at all? thank you in advance for your...

Conservation of Momentum vs. Energy in "sticking" collisions Homework Statement So here's the deal I'm wondering why when you have a collision where the two objects stick together momentum is conserved but energy isn't. (or at least that's how I'm reading what my math is telling me)...

Homework Statement A particle p traveling with a speed of vpi = 3 m/s hits and scatters elastically from another particle N, initially at rest. Particle p is deflected through 90°, leaving with a speed of vpf = 2.3 m/s, and a mass mp = 2 kg. a) What angle (in degrees) does the recoiling N...

Here's my problem guys, I've been trying to puzzle this out for a while. Would really appreciate any help at all, thanks! Homework Statement A 50.0 g ball of clay traveling east at 5.50 m/s collides and sticks together with a 40.0 g ball of clay traveling north at 6.00 m/s. What is the...