inelastic collision

American  

noun

Mechanics.

1. a collision in which the total kinetic energy of the colliding bodies or particles is not the same after the collision as it was before (opposed to elastic collision).

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inelastic collision Scientific  

/ ĭn′ĭ-lăs′tĭk /

1. A collision between bodies in which the total kinetic energy of the bodies is not conserved. In an inelastic collision, the total momentum of the two bodies remains the same, but some of the initial kinetic energy is transformed into heat energy internal to the bodies, used up in deforming the bodies, or radiated away in some other fashion. Inelastic collisions, such as the collision of two balls of clay, tend to result in the slowing and sometimes the joining together of the colliding bodies.

2. Compare elastic collision

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Example Sentences

A collision in which the objects stick together is sometimes called perfectly inelastic because it reduces internal kinetic energy more than does any other type of inelastic collision.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

The initial kinetic energy of the puck is almost entirely converted to thermal energy and sound in this inelastic collision.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

In an inelastic collision, kinetic energy is not the same before and after the collision.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Suppose the second cart has some putty on one end so that, when the collision occurs, the two carts stick together in an inelastic collision.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Or there may be an inelastic collision, when the photon hits an atom and knocks out an electron—the old photoelectric effect.

From The Mercenaries by Piper, H. Beam