Lecture Notes: Collisions with Professor Dave

Introduction to Collisions

• Definition: A collision occurs whenever an object in motion comes into contact with another object.
• Applications: This concept applies to pool balls, molecules, asteroids, planets, etc.

Conservation of Linear Momentum

• Principle: In any collision, there must be a conservation of linear momentum.
• Types of Collisions: Different collisions manifest momentum conservation in various ways.

Types of Collisions

Elastic Collisions

• Characteristics:
  • Objects remain separate after collision.
  • Total kinetic energy and momentum of the system are conserved.
  • No energy lost as a result of the collision.
• Examples:
  • Pool table balls.
  • Atomic/molecular collisions in an ideal gas.
  • Nearly elastic examples: Soccer ball kicked by a player (minimal energy lost to heat and sound).

Perfectly Inelastic Collisions

• Characteristics:
  • Objects collide and move together as a single mass.
  • Easy momentum analysis: Treat as a single object after collision.
  • Expression: (m_1v_1 + m_2v_2 = (m_1 + m_2) \times V_{final})
• Examples:
  • Celestial bodies (e.g., asteroids) fusing together.
  • Car collisions.
• Energy Considerations:
  • Total momentum conserved, but total kinetic energy is not.
  • Energy conversion into sound, heat, and internal energy._

Inelastic Collisions

• Characteristics:
  • Somewhere between elastic and perfectly inelastic.
  • Some kinetic energy is lost to collision.
  • Simplifies mathematical predictions.

Conclusion

• Linear Motion Review: Covered kinematics, dynamics, harmonic motion, and momentum.
• Next Topic: Next session will explore circular motion.

Additional Notes

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