elastic collision

American  

noun

Mechanics.

1. a collision in which the total kinetic energy of the colliding bodies or particles is the same after the collision as it was before (opposed to inelastic collision).

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elastic collision Scientific  

/ ĭ-lăs′tĭk /

1. A collision between bodies in which the total kinetic energy of the bodies is conserved. In a perfectly elastic collision, no energy is dissipated as heat energy internal to the bodies, and none is spent on permanently deforming the bodies or radiated away in some other fashion. Elastic collisions, such as the collision of a rubber ball on a hard surface, result in the reflection or “bouncing” of bodies away from each other.

2. Comapre inelastic collision

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Etymology

Origin of elastic collision

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

We have seen that in an elastic collision, internal kinetic energy is conserved.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

If the two masses have an elastic collision, what will be the final velocities of the masses after the collision?

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

In an elastic collision, kinetic energy is the same before and after.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

First, an elastic collision conserves internal kinetic energy.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

There may be an elastic collision, in which the photon merely bounces off.

From The Mercenaries by Piper, H. Beam