Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: momentum conservation(2)



Point well taken, Robert.
But consider the non-contact interaction two charged point particles
("action at a distance").
Perhaps the most basic, all-encompassing, requirement is that there be
some mechanism for transformation of KE into other forms. Such a
mechanism is required even in an elastic collision (although in the
elastic case the energy is finally returned to the particles as KE).

Bob

Bob Sciamanda (W3NLV)
Physics, Edinboro Univ of PA (em)
trebor@velocity.net
http://www.velocity.net/~trebor

----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert A Cohen" <bbq@ESU.EDU>
To: <PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, March 14, 2000 12:00 PM
Subject: Re: momentum conservation(2)


Perhaps it is better to say that the center of mass of each object may
travel a different distance through space? After all, wouldn't the
contact point travel the same distance for both objects?

----------------------------------------------------------
| Robert Cohen Department of Physics |
| East Stroudsburg University |
| bbq@esu.edu East Stroudsburg, PA 18301 |
| http://www.esu.edu/~bbq/ (570) 422-3428 |
----------------------------------------------------------

On Tue, 14 Mar 2000, Bob Sciamanda wrote:

Hi John,
The crux is not a difference in time; both forces operate for the
same
time duration. But during that common "force-operating time interval"
each particle may travel a different distance through space (than the
other particle).
[snip]