When two bodies collide elastically, both the total kinetic energy and the total momentum of the system are conserved. This means that there is no loss of kinetic energy during the collision, and the total momentum before and after the collision remains the same. The bodies rebound off each other without any permanent deformation or generation of heat, and the force of interaction between them is conservative.
Key Points:
- Total kinetic energy before collision = Total kinetic energy after collision.
- Total momentum before collision = Total momentum after collision.
- The collision force is conservative, meaning energy is temporarily stored as potential energy during deformation and then converted back to kinetic energy.
- The coefficient of restitution for an elastic collision is 1, indicating no loss in relative speed between the bodies.
- Elastic collisions are idealized and closely approximated in nature by collisions of atomic particles or objects like billiard balls.
This conservation leads to the characteristic "bouncing off" behavior of the colliding bodies, with energy and momentum exchanged but not lost.
