Elastic collisions and inelastic collisions are two types of interactions that occur between objects during a collision, and they differ primarily in how kinetic energy is treated during the event.
Elastic Collisions: In an elastic collision, both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved. This means that the total momentum of the system before the collision is equal to the total momentum after the collision, and similarly, the total kinetic energy remains unchanged. Elastic collisions typically occur between hard, non-deforming bodies, such as billiard balls or certain gas molecules.
Example of an Elastic Collision: When two billiard balls collide, they bounce off each other without any deformation and without losing kinetic energy. If one ball is stationary and the other hits it, they will separate with a new set of velocities, but the kinetic energy and momentum of the system remain the same.
Inelastic Collisions: In an inelastic collision, while momentum is still conserved, kinetic energy is not conserved. Some of the kinetic energy is transformed into other forms of energy, such as heat, sound, or deformation of the colliding bodies. This type of collision often occurs in everyday occurrences where objects stick together or deform upon impact.
Example of an Inelastic Collision: A classic example of an inelastic collision is a car crash. When two cars collide, they may crumple together, and some of their kinetic energy is converted into sound, heat, and energy in the form of deformation of the cars. While the total momentum before and after the collision remains the same, the kinetic energies before and after can be markedly different.
In summary, the key difference lies in energy conservation: elastic collisions conserve both momentum and kinetic energy, whereas inelastic collisions conserve momentum but not kinetic energy, leading to the transformation of energy into other forms.
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