Simulate elastic and inelastic 1D and 2D collisions. Adjust masses and velocities, track momentum and kinetic energy conservation.
Put two bodies on a collision course by specifying their masses and velocities, then choose an elastic or inelastic collision in one or two dimensions. The simulator shows the resulting motion and tracks total momentum and kinetic energy before and after impact. In two dimensions, direction matters as well as speed. The common surprise is that an inelastic collision can conserve system momentum while losing translational kinetic energy; the missing kinetic energy is not missing momentum.
A concrete input and expected output from the current implementation.
Input
Mode: 1D elastic Object 1: mass 1 kg, velocity +2 m/s Object 2: mass 1 kg, velocity 0 m/s
Expected output
Object 1 final velocity: 0 m/s Object 2 final velocity: +2 m/s Momentum before and after: +2 kg m/s Kinetic energy before and after: 2 J
In a head-on elastic collision between equal masses, the objects exchange velocities. Initially, momentum is 1 x 2 = 2 kg m/s and kinetic energy is 0.5 x 1 x 2^2 = 2 J; the final values give the same totals.
In 1D, each velocity is signed, so its sign identifies the direction of travel. Total momentum is the sum of mass times signed velocity for both objects. For an elastic collision, both momentum and total kinetic energy remain constant. For an inelastic collision, momentum remains the primary conservation check while translational kinetic energy can decrease.
In 2D, velocity and momentum are vectors. The horizontal momentum totals must balance before and after the collision, and the vertical totals must balance separately. Kinetic energy is still a scalar, calculated from each object's speed rather than from a signed component. Different outgoing directions can therefore produce the same conserved system totals.
No. Conservation applies to the mass-weighted vector sum for the complete two-object system, not to either object separately. One object can slow down, stop, reverse direction, or gain speed as momentum is transferred. In an elastic collision the system's kinetic energy also remains constant, but each object's individual kinetic energy may change.
An inelastic collision converts some translational kinetic energy into other forms, such as deformation, internal energy, or sound. That does not prevent total momentum from remaining constant for the modeled isolated system. No, the before-and-after translational kinetic energies are not expected to match unless the selected collision is elastic.
The example and behavioral notes were checked against the browser implementation. Standards and primary references below define the relevant format, formula, or platform behavior.
Calculate percentages, percentage change, and what percent one number is of another with step-by-step breakdowns.
Calculate tips and split bills between multiple people with customizable tip percentages and rounding options.
Calculate monthly payments, total interest, and generate amortization schedules for loans and mortgages.
Calculate Body Mass Index from height and weight with category classification and healthy range guidance.
Calculate sale prices, savings amounts, and final costs after single or stacked percentage discounts.
Compute mean, median, mode, standard deviation, variance, and other descriptive statistics from a data set.