Set of steel balls, Ping-Pong ball, Super ball, Handball

 

Code Number: 1N30.21

Demo Title: Elastic & Inelastic Collision of Solids - Balls

Condition: Good

Principle: Conservation of Linear Momentum, Coefficient of Restitution

Area of Study: Mechanics

Equipment: 

Steel plate, Set of steel balls, Ping-Pong ball, Super ball, Handball, and Impulse Demo.

Procedure:

The happy/sad ball set has one ball that bounces much like a super ball and one ball that bounces very little.

Combinations of the other balls will give different elastic coefficients.

References:

  • Jorge Sztrajman and Alejandro Sztrajman, "An Easy Way to One-Dimensional Elastic Collisions", TPT, Vol. 55, #3, Mar. 2017, p. 164.
  • David Kagan, "Demonstration of the 'Trampoline Effect' In Aluminum Bats", TPT, Vol. 49, #6, Sept. 2011, p. 398.
  • Joshua Gates, "A Teachable Moment Uncovered by Video Analysis", TPT, Vol. 284, #5, May 2011, p. 284.
  • Norman Derby and Robert Fuller, "Reality and Theory in a Collision", TPT, Vol. 37, #1, Jan. 1999, p. 24.
  • Herman Erlichson, "Newton's Strange Collisions", TPT, Vol. 33, #3, Mar. 1995, p. 169.
  • Gareth J. Lewis, J. Cris Arnold, and Iwan W. Griffiths, "The Dynamic Behavior of Squash Balls", AJP, Vol. 79, #3, Mar. 2011, p. 291.
  • Rod Cross, "Differences Between Bouncing Balls, Springs, and Rods", AJP, Vol. 76, #10, Oct. 2008, p. 908.
  • Robert Ehrlich, "5.6, Inelastic Collisions Usings 'Newton's Cradle'", Why Toast Lands Jelly-Side Down, p. 91.
  • Robert Ehrlich, "E.1. Inelastic Collision Between Two Balls", Turning the World Inside Out and 174 Other Simple Physics Demonstrations, p. 51.
  • Janice VanCleave, "Determine the Effect of Temperature on How High a Rubber Ball Bounces", Super Science Challenges, p. 125.
1N30.21 - Dr. James Wetzel, PHYS 1611 - Elastic Collision - Ball
1N30.21 - University of Maryland QOTW #155