When objects collide, a number of different things can happen depending on the characteristics of the colliding objects. Of course, you know that momentum is always conserved in a closed system. Imagine, though, the differences in a collision if the two objects colliding are super-bouncy balls compared to two lumps of clay. In the first case, the balls would bounce off each other. In the second, they would stick together and become, in essence, one object. Obviously, you need more ways to characterize collisions.
Elastic collisions occur when the colliding objects bounce off of each other. This typically occurs when you have colliding objects which are very hard or bouncy. Officially, an elastic collision is one in which the sum of the kinetic energy of all the colliding objects before the event is equal to the sum of the kinetic energy of all the objects after the event. Put more simply, kinetic energy is conserved in an elastic collisions.
Inelastic collisions occur when two objects collide and kinetic energy is not conserved. In this type of collision some of the initial kinetic energy is converted into other types of energy (heat, sound, etc.), which is why kinetic energy is NOT conserved in an inelastic collision. In a perfectly inelastic collision, the two objects colliding stick together.
In reality, most collisions fall somewhere between the extremes of a completely elastic collision and a completely inelastic collision.
Gaurav Seth 5 years, 4 months ago
When objects collide, a number of different things can happen depending on the characteristics of the colliding objects. Of course, you know that momentum is always conserved in a closed system. Imagine, though, the differences in a collision if the two objects colliding are super-bouncy balls compared to two lumps of clay. In the first case, the balls would bounce off each other. In the second, they would stick together and become, in essence, one object. Obviously, you need more ways to characterize collisions.
Elastic collisions occur when the colliding objects bounce off of each other. This typically occurs when you have colliding objects which are very hard or bouncy. Officially, an elastic collision is one in which the sum of the kinetic energy of all the colliding objects before the event is equal to the sum of the kinetic energy of all the objects after the event. Put more simply, kinetic energy is conserved in an elastic collisions.
Inelastic collisions occur when two objects collide and kinetic energy is not conserved. In this type of collision some of the initial kinetic energy is converted into other types of energy (heat, sound, etc.), which is why kinetic energy is NOT conserved in an inelastic collision. In a perfectly inelastic collision, the two objects colliding stick together.
In reality, most collisions fall somewhere between the extremes of a completely elastic collision and a completely inelastic collision.
3Thank You