Conservation of Momentum in Billiard Ball Collisions

What happens to the momentum of two billiard balls that collide?

If there are no outside forces, the momentum of two colliding billiard balls is...

Answer:

When two billiard balls collide, their momenta are transferred between them according to the law of conservation of momentum.

When two billiard balls collide, their momenta are transferred between them according to the law of conservation of momentum. This means that the total momentum before the collision is equal to the total momentum after the collision, as long as there are no outside forces acting on the system. So, if the initial momentum of one ball is positive and the other is negative, their momenta will cancel out after the collision.

The conservation of momentum is a fundamental principle in physics that states that the total momentum of an isolated system remains constant if no external forces are acting on it. This law allows us to predict the motion of objects after a collision and understand how momentum is transferred between them.

Understanding the conservation of momentum in billiard ball collisions can help improve your skills in the game by predicting the path of the balls after they collide. It also demonstrates the power of fundamental physics principles in explaining everyday phenomena.

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