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inelastic collision
noun
Mechanics.
- a collision in which the total kinetic energy of the colliding bodies or particles is not the same after the collision as it was before ( elastic collision ).
inelastic collision
/ ĭ′ĭ-ă′ĭ /
- A collision between bodies in which the total kinetic energy of the bodies is not conserved. In an inelastic collision, the total momentum of the two bodies remains the same, but some of the initial kinetic energy is transformed into heat energy internal to the bodies, used up in deforming the bodies, or radiated away in some other fashion. Inelastic collisions, such as the collision of two balls of clay, tend to result in the slowing and sometimes the joining together of the colliding bodies.
- Compare elastic collision
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Example Sentences
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“Thus,” continued Fitzhugh, “it became necessary to incorporate into the brain a physical analogue of Lagerglocke’s Principle: ‘Learning is a result of an inelastic collision.’
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Or there may be an inelastic collision, when the photon hits an atom and knocks out an electron—the old photoelectric effect.
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