The discussion clarifies that car crashes are inherently inelastic collisions, as they involve the conversion of kinetic energy into other forms, such as heat, due to deformation. The participants confirm that while textbook problems may present scenarios with elastic collisions, real-life car accidents do not exhibit this behavior. The conversation also emphasizes the importance of momentum conservation in collision calculations, particularly in scenarios involving different masses and velocities, as illustrated by the example of two cars colliding with specified masses and speeds.
PREREQUISITESPhysics students, automotive engineers, safety analysts, and anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of car collisions and their implications on vehicle design and safety.
Cyosis said:Your intuition is correct, you won't see two cars bounce off each other during a head on collision in real life. However with these kind of textbook problems it's important to just look at the data given regardless of how realistic it is. Your answer is correct.