4.4 Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

Elastic Collisions

In elastic collisions, both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved:

${p_{tot,i} = p_{tot,f}}$ ${K_{tot,i} = K_{tot,f}}$

Elastic collisions are idealized—real-world interactions (like billiard balls or gas molecules) approximate them closely but often lose some energy to sound or deformation.