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Ballbouncingfrommassivewall.
Mostphysicstextbooksconsiderthecaseofaballbouncingfromamassiveobject,say
the floor, or a wall. They consider the case where the collision is nearly or totally
elastic.Inthetotallyelasticcollision,theballlosesnokineticenergyinthecollision,so
its speed after collision is the same as before the collision. The student thinks, "Of
course that must be the case, because of conservation of energy." Seldom does the
textbook, or the student, consider how conservation of momentum is satisfied in this
problem. They should, for the analysis is instructive. Analyzing this may also give
someinsightintowhyenergy,momentumandtheconservationlawstooksolongtobe
formulated,sincetheconceptsaresubtle.
Consideraballofmassmcollidingelasticallywithastationaryobjectoflargermass
M.Drawthepicturebeforeandafterthecollision.Theconservationequationsare: [1]
mv1=mv2+MV2
(1/2)mv12=(1/2)mv22+(1/2)MV2

[2]

wherev1istheinitialvelocityofthesmallerball,v2isitsfinalvelocityaftercollision,
andV2isthevelocityofthelargermassafterthecollision.
Multiplytheenergyequationby2toeliminatethe(1/2)factors.
mv12=mv22+MV2

[3]

Dividethisbymonbothsides.
v12=v22+(M/m)V22

[4]

Rearrange.
v12v22=(M/m)V22
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[5]
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Dividethemomentumequationbymonbothsides.
v1=v2+(M/m)V2

[6]

Rearrangeandsquarebothsides.
(v1v2)2=(M/m)2V22

[7]

MultiplyEq.[5]by(M/m)andcombinewith[7]toeliminateV22.
(M/m)(v12v22)=(v1v2)2

[8]

Multiplybothsidesby(m/M)
(v12v22)=(m/M)(v1v2)2

[9]

Takethelimitas(m/M)goestozero.
(v12v22)=0

[10]

Soonesolutionofthisisv1=v2.Anothersolutionisv1 = v2, corresponding to the

casewherethetwoobjectsdonotcollideatall.
Onecangraphthevaluesofv2andV2against(m/M)andshowthatas(m/M)goesto
zero, the values of the final velocities do indeed smoothly go to the limiting case
values. In words, the reason this can happen is that kinetic energy is a scalar, and
momentum is a vector, and kinetic energy varies as the square of the speed, while
momentum varies as only the first power of speed. Therefore the quantity
momentum/energy varies with speed as (1/v). So when v goes to zero, the
momentum/energycanbeinfinite.
Thosewhohavehadcalculuswillrecognizethatthisisacasewhereanindeterminate
formariseswhenyoutakethelimitofthevalueofmomentumofabodywhosemass
increasestoinfinity.
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Bouncingatanangle.
Arelatedproblemisthatofaballbouncingelasticallyfromamassivewallincidentat
an angle. If the ball is incident to the wall at some angle, the rebound is at the same
angle,providedtheballhadnospinbeforeorafterthecollision.That'sactuallyarather
unlikely situation, for even if the ball had no spin initially, it usually does after the
collision and the incident and rebound angles will not be equal. The problem can
thereforegetquitemessy.Butinthetextbookdiscussionsofclassicalkinetictheoryone
oftenbeginswithanidealizedsituationofpointparticlesbouncingelasticallyfromthe
infinitely massive walls of a box enclosure. The assertion is then made that the
particle's momentum component parallel to the wall is unchanged (and therefore this
component of velocity is unchanged), but the momentum and velocity components
perpendicular to the wall are reversed. This is equivalent to saying that (a) angular
momentumiszeroforapointparticleand(b)thewallexertsaforceontheparticlethat
isperpendiculartothewall,sotheimpulsetheballexperiencesisperpendiculartothe
wall. Therefore the change in the particle's momentum is perpendicular to the wall,
affectingonlytheparticle'svelocitycomponentperpendiculartothewall.
DonaldE.Simanek,March5,2005
Gotothenextchapter,Thermodynamics.Heatengines,refrigeratorsandCarnotcycles.
ReturntothecontentspageofABriefCourseinClassicalMechanics.
ReturntoDonaldSimanek'sfrontpage.

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