Formula
The formula for the velocities after a one-dimensional collision are:
where
- va is the final velocity of the first object after impact
- vb is the final velocity of the second object after impact
- ua is the initial velocity of the first object before impact
- ub is the initial velocity of the second object before impact
- ma is the mass of the first object
- mb is the mass of the second object
- CR is the coefficient of restitution; if it is 1 we have an elastic collision; if it is 0 we have a perfectly inelastic collision, see below.
In a center of momentum frame the formulas reduce to:
For two- and three-dimensional collisions the velocities in these formulas are the components perpendicular to the tangent line/plane at the point of contact.
Read more about this topic: Inelastic Collision
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