A billiard-theoretic approach to elementary one-dimensional elastic collisions.

Autor/in	Redner, S.
Titel	A billiard-theoretic approach to elementary one-dimensional elastic collisions.
Quelle	In: American journal of physics, 72 (2004) 12, S. 1492-1498 PDF als Volltext Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; gedruckt; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0002-9505; 1943-2909
DOI	10.1119/1.1738428
Schlagwörter	Energieerhaltungssatz; Impulserhaltungssatz; Mechanik; Physik; Spielzeugphysik; Stoß
Abstract	A simple relation is developed between the elastic collisions of freely moving particles in one dimension and a corresponding billiard system. For two particles with masses m1 and m2 on the half-line x)0 that approach an elastic barrier at x=0, the corresponding billiard system is an infinite wedge. The collision history of the two particles can be easily inferred from the corresponding billiard trajectory. This connection explains the classic demonstrations of the ''dime on the superball'' and the ''baseball on the basketball'' that are a staple in elementary physics courses. It also is shown that three elastic particles on an infinite line and three particles on a finite ring correspond, respectively, to the motion of a billiard ball in an infinite wedge and on a triangular billiard table. It is shown how to determine the angles of these two sets in terms of the particle masses. © 2004 American Association of Physics Teachers.
Erfasst von	Arbeitsgruppe Didaktik der Physik, Universität Osnabrück
Update	2005/2