Formula
The formula for the velocities after a one-dimensional collision are:
where
- va is the final velocity of the first object after impact
- vb is the final velocity of the second object after impact
- ua is the initial velocity of the first object before impact
- ub is the initial velocity of the second object before impact
- ma is the mass of the first object
- mb is the mass of the second object
- CR is the coefficient of restitution; if it is 1 we have an elastic collision; if it is 0 we have a perfectly inelastic collision, see below.
In a center of momentum frame the formulas reduce to:
For two- and three-dimensional collisions the velocities in these formulas are the components perpendicular to the tangent line/plane at the point of contact.
Read more about this topic: Inelastic Collision
Famous quotes containing the word formula:
“My formula for greatness in human beings is amor fati: that one wants to change nothing, neither forwards, nor backwards, nor in all eternity. Not merely to endure necessity, still less to hide it—all idealism is mendacity in the face of necessity—but rather to love it.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“The formula for achieving a successful relationship is simple: you should treat all disasters as if they were trivialities but never treat a triviality as if it were a disaster.”
—Quentin Crisp (b. 1908)
“Every formula which expresses a law of nature is a hymn of praise to God.”
—Maria Mitchell (1818–1889)