Momentum Animation

Click, drag, release!

Collisions can be on a scale of 0 (Inelastic) to 1 (Elastic).

• Inelastic collisions are mushy (like dough balls)
• Elastic collisions are bouncy (like rubber balls)

In the Gravity Animation, the collisions are either inelastic (two objects smashing into each other) or elastic (the objects swing around each other and head off again).

Formula

The formulas used in this animation are:

new v_a = elast × m_b(v_b − v_a) + m_av_a + m_bv_b m_a + m_b

new v_b = elast × m_a(v_a − v_b) + m_av_a + m_bv_b m_a + m_b

Where:

• elast = "Coefficient of Restitution", 0=inelastic, 1=elastic
• v_a and m_a are the velocity and mass of object a
• v_b and m_b are the velocity and mass of object b