Elastic collision

An elastic collision is an interaction in which the colliding bodies’ total momentum and total kinetic energy are conserved.

Conservation of momentum: The total momentum of an isolated system remains constant over time. It constrains the bodies’ final momenta during an elastic collision.
Momentum: A vector quantity equal to an object's mass multiplied by its velocity. Elastic-collision conservation applies to the total momentum of the interacting bodies.
Elastic scattering: A scattering process in which the interacting particles' total kinetic energy is unchanged. It applies elastic-collision conservation to particle deflection without internal excitation.
Inelastic collision: A collision in which total kinetic energy decreases while total momentum remains conserved for an isolated system. It differs from an elastic collision because kinetic energy is converted into other forms.
Kinetic energy: The energy an object has because of its motion. Its total value before and after an elastic collision is equal.
Newton's laws of motion: Three classical laws relating forces, motion, and changes in momentum. They describe how contact forces change each body's motion during impact.
Rutherford scattering: The deflection of charged particles by the Coulomb field of atomic nuclei. It is modeled as elastic scattering when recoil is included and internal excitation is absent.
Perfectly inelastic collision: An inelastic collision in which the bodies stick together after impact. It produces the greatest possible kinetic-energy loss for given initial momenta.
Center-of-momentum frame: A reference frame in which a system’s total momentum is zero. In this frame, an elastic collision reverses each particle’s momentum without changing its kinetic energy.
Isolated system: A system that exchanges neither matter nor net energy with its surroundings. Conservation claims for a collision require external impulses to be negligible.

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