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

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

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

This is an inelastic collision, with a total momentum of 0 kg • m/s.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

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

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

“Thus,” continued Fitzhugh, “it became necessary to incorporate into the brain a physical analogue of Lagerglocke’s Principle: ‘Learning is a result of an inelastic collision.’

From Unwise Child by Garrett, Randall