Cue ball force(?) at impact with other ball

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SUMMARY

In billiard physics, when a cue ball strikes another ball, it experiences deceleration while imparting momentum to the target ball. The collision is characterized by a brief duration due to the stiffness of billiard balls, which compress at the point of contact. The cue ball does not exert positive force at impact; instead, it transfers kinetic energy to the struck ball. Understanding this interaction is crucial for optimizing shot techniques in billiards.

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  • Basic understanding of momentum and kinetic energy in physics
  • Familiarity with billiard ball dynamics and collision theory
  • Knowledge of elastic collisions and their properties
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bill duffy
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When a cue ball is driven into another ball, it is either not accelerating or decelerating at impact. It has momentum but not (positive) force. What (work?) is imparted to the struck ball, and in what units of measurement?
 
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If it's a straight line collision with no spin on the cue ball at the time of impact, then during the collision, the cue ball and target ball compress at the point of contact, the cue ball decelerates, and the target ball accelerates. Billiard balls are very stiff, so the duration of the collision is a short period of time.
 

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