Physics › Section F · Momentum and collisions › Topic F.4
Inelastic collisions in one dimension
Most real collisions are inelastic: momentum survives, but some kinetic energy turns into heat, sound and crumpled metal. When the objects stick together the loss is as large as momentum conservation allows, and calculating it explains crash design and the ballistic pendulum.
In this topic
- Collisions that lose energy
- Inelastic and perfectly inelastic
- Finding the common velocity
- Worked example: coupling railway wagons
- How much can be lost?
- Worked example: a head-on trolley crash
- Worked example: the ballistic pendulum
- Between the extremes
- Crashes and crumple zones
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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