If a particle and a system have zero momentum

DJW · Feb 25, 2008

Is it true that they both must also have zero kinetic energy?

qspeechc · Feb 25, 2008

If we are talking of one particle, and it has zero momentum, it must have zero velocity (mass cannot be zero), and so its kinetic energy is zero.
If a system of particles has zero momentum, anyone particle in the system may still have momentum, say ,if it is vibrating in a lattice, but the system as a whole does not.

If a particle and a system have zero momentum

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If a particle and a system have zero momentum

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