In: Physics
Why can or cannot perfectly elastic collisions ever occur in nature??
A perfectly elastic collision is the one in which energy and momentum are conserved before and after collision.
In this type of collision the situation demands a perfect or ideal surface and ideal environment.
When two objects collide, depending on the ratio of masses, generally momentum and energy are distributed among the colliding objects. A simple rule requires the surfaces of colliding objects to be completely smooth to the microscopic or molecular scale, which is impossible. Any kind of friction always makes some energy converted into heat for the objects and this loss of energy is a violation of perfectly elastic collision.
There will always be vibrations internally in the substance which are generally attributed to the translational energy of the object. This energy gets added or subtracted based on the resulting configuration. It is impossible to take or calculate this energy. Always some energy is spent in moving the objects apart from each other after they have collided.