Elastic and inelastic collisions

In any collision between objects in an isolated system, total momentum is conserved. Collisions differ in what happens to kinetic energy. In an elastic collision, kinetic energy is also conserved, and the objects bounce apart; collisions between billiard balls come close. In an inelastic collision, some kinetic energy is converted into other forms, like thermal energy, sound, or the energy of bending and denting, and in a perfectly inelastic collision the objects stick together and move as one. For example, a 2 kg cart moving at 3 m/s that hits and sticks to a stationary 1 kg cart: total momentum is 6 kg m/s before, so the joined 3 kg carts move at 2 m/s after, and some kinetic energy has been lost to other forms.

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