Question

Momentum Answer the following question in as much detail as possible. Once you have completed your post, respond to the post of at least 2 of your classmates. Many collisions, like the collision of a bat with a baseball, appear to be instantaneous. Most people also would not imagine the bat and ball as bending or being compressed during the collision. Consider the following possibilities: • The collision is instantaneous. • The collision takes a finite amount of time, during which the ball and bat retain their shapes and remain in contact. • The collision takes a finite amount of time, during which the ball and bat are bending or being compressed. How can two of these be ruled out based on energy or momentum considerations?

Answer 1

These two can be ruled out

1) the collision is instantaneous.

2) the collision takes a finite amount of time, during which the ball and bat are bending or being compressed.

As this is a case of a ball and a bat, there will be no bending of bat involved and also the ball will retain its shape. It is more towards elastic collision.

when two body collide, the momentum of the body before and after the collision remains the same.

but the kinetic energy before and after collision depends on the nature of collision, if it is an perfectly elastic collision there will be no loss in kinetic energy where as if it was an inelastic collision there will be a huge loss of Kinetic energy.