What is the best description of one bollard ball hitting a second bollard ball?

1 answer

A bollard ball collision can be described as an elastic collision between two spherical objects. In this scenario, one bollard ball, moving with a certain velocity, strikes another bollard ball that is at rest or moving at a different velocity. During the collision, two key principles apply: the conservation of momentum and the conservation of kinetic energy.

  1. Conservation of Momentum: The total momentum before the collision is equal to the total momentum after the collision. This means that the velocities of both balls will change based on their masses and initial velocities.

  2. Conservation of Kinetic Energy: In ideal elastic collisions, the total kinetic energy of the system remains constant throughout the interaction.

The outcome of the collision depends on factors like the angle of impact (if not a head-on collision), the masses of the balls, and their initial velocities. In a simple scenario where one ball strikes another directly, you would observe that the moving ball transfers some of its momentum and energy to the stationary one, leading to a change in their speeds post-collision.

In summary, the interaction resembles a classic physics experiment where two billiard or bowling balls collide, illustrating fundamental principles of momentum and energy transfer.