Mechanics
If a body of mass m collides elastically with a second body, maximum energy transfer to the second body will occur when the second body has the same mass m. In a head-on collision of equal masses, the energy of the first body will be completely transferred to the second body (as in Newton's cradle for example). In this case, the masses act as "mechanical impedances", which must be matched. If and are the masses of the moving and stationary bodies, and P is the momentum of the system (which remains constant throughout the collision), the energy of the second body after the collision will be E2:
which is analogous to the power-transfer equation.
These principles are useful in the application of highly energetic materials (explosives). If an explosive charge is placed on a target, the sudden release of energy causes compression waves to propagate through the target radially from the point-charge contact. When the compression waves reach areas of high acoustic impedance mismatch (such as the opposite side of the target), tension waves reflect back and create spalling. The greater the mismatch, the greater the effect of creasing and spalling will be. A charge initiated against a wall with air behind it will do more damage to the wall than a charge initiated against a wall with soil behind it.
Read more about this topic: Impedance Matching, Non-electrical Examples
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