8.2 Elastic Collisions in One Dimension Newton's Cradle |
| Instructions: Click on the "Start Simulation" button to start the applet. You can select the number of oscillating masses from the pull down menu. Navigation: You can come back to this window by pressing the "Close Simulation" button on the bottom frame of the utility. |
| Explanation: The collisions between the balls in this classical set-up are nearly elastic. We can use the concepts discussed in section 8.2 to explain the behavior. Note that the number of swinging balls never changes during the process. In other words, two balls cannot simply knock out one ball with twice the speed. Can you identify which principle would be violated if that were to occur? |
| Source: Walter Fendt, Stadtbergen, Germany Go to the web site and link to the Online Library for further information. |