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

See Examples For:

inelastic collision

The internal kinetic energy of the system changes in any inelastic collision and is reduced to zero in this example.

From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015

Angular momentum is conserved for this inelastic collision because the surface is frictionless and the unbalanced external force at the nail exerts no torque.

From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015

Which of the following results represents an inelastic collision between A and B?

From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015

Which of the following statements is true about 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 H. Beam Piper