HyperPhysics Concepts. About HyperPhysics Rationale for Development HyperPhysics is an exploration environment for concepts in physics which employs concept maps and other linking strategies to facilitate smooth navigation. For the most part, it is laid out in small segments or "cards", true to its original development in HyperCard. The entire environment is interconnected with thousands of links, reminiscent of a neural network. The bottom bar of each card contains links to major concept maps for divisions of physics, plus a "go back" feature to allow you to retrace the path of an exploration. The side bar contains a link to the extensive Index, which itself is composed of active links.
Part of the intent for this exploration environment is to provide many opportunities for numerical exploration in the form of active formuli and standard problems implemented in Javascript. New content for HyperPhysics will be posted as it is developed. Please respect the Copyright HyperPhysics (©C.R. Availability on DVD or CD. Nservation of Momentum. Further Mechanics Tutorial 2 - Conservation of Momentum We have seen how momentum is the product between mass and velocity. We cannot see a momentum. There is no school or college (or university) that has a class set of momenta (plural of momentum).
But it is a concept that is essential in explaining what happens in collisions and explosions. An important principle: The total momentum of a system remains constant provided that no external forces act on the system. This has important implications in the study of collisions. The system may consist of several elements, each of which has its own momentum. If one element hogs most of the momentum, the others won’t have much. Photo by Andrew Dunn. Each car has the same mass, but we can imagine them having different velocities. If it were not, the change in momentum would result in an overall force, resulting in movement (Newton II). A few moments later, we might see: We will only consider the momentum of two objects, acting in a straight line.
Momentum. The sports announcer says, "Going into the all-star break, the Chicago White Sox have the momentum. " The headlines declare "Chicago Bulls Gaining Momentum. " The coach pumps up his team at half-time, saying "You have the momentum; the critical need is that you use that momentum and bury them in this third quarter. " Momentum is a commonly used term in sports. A team that has the momentum is on the move and is going to take some effort to stop.
Momentum can be defined as "mass in motion. " Momentum = mass • velocity In physics, the symbol for the quantity momentum is the lower case p. P = m • v where m is the mass and v is the velocity. The units for momentum would be mass units times velocity units. Momentum as a Vector Quantity Momentum is a vector quantity. Must include information about both the magnitude and the direction of the bowling ball.
The Momentum Equation as a Guide to Thinking Check Your Understanding 1. 2. 3. Compare the velocities of these three players. Elastic and Inelastic Collision. This Java applet deals with the extreme cases of a collision process illustrated by two wagons: For an elastic collision it is characteristic that the sum of the kinetic energies of the involved bodies is constant. After a perfectly inelastic collision, however, both bodies have the same velocity; the sum of their kinetic energies is reduced, compared with the initial value, because a part of it has changed into internal energy (warming up). The total momentum of the involved bodies is conserved, regardless whether the collision is elastic or inelastic.
The movement of the common center of gravity (indicated by a yellow dot) is not influenced by the collision process. You can choose the simulation of an elastic or an inelastic collision by using the appropriate radio button on the top right. You can write the values of mass and initial velocity into the textfields. URL: © Walter Fendt, November 7, 1998 Last modification: February 3, 2010. Momentum. The momentum of a particle is defined as the product of its mass times its velocity. It is a vector quantity. The momentum of a system is the vector sum of the momenta of the objects which make up the system. If the system is an isolated system, then the momentum of the system is a constant of the motion and subject to the principle of conservation of momentum. The basic definition of momentum applies even at relativistic velocities but then the mass is taken to be the relativistic mass.
The most common symbol for momentum is p. You may insert numbers for any of the quantities. Impulse and momentum khan academy. Elastic and Inelastic Collision.