Laws Of Physics

drift240sxdragqueen · Mar 31st, 2003, 10:34 PM

k here is a lil problem i have can't figure it out...

if two cars are traveling at 200mph in two direction and collide at one point >>>>>0<<<<< would the collision be a 400mph collision or a 200mph collision?

UpChuck · Mar 31st, 2003, 10:40 PM

dry · Mar 31st, 2003, 11:29 PM

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmed...tum/cthoi.html

Wagon Wagon · Apr 1st, 2003, 12:09 AM

Assuming they have the same mass, each car would have a 200mph impact.

Whichever car has more mass would exert more force on the other car.

That's about the extent of my physics knowledge.

Blu200SX · Apr 1st, 2003, 12:36 AM

technically its 400mph

RiceBox · Apr 1st, 2003, 07:51 AM

As long as they have the same mass and travelling directly towards eachother it will be a 400 mph crash for both cars. If they are travelling at an angle to eachother, and/or have different masses, then it will still be a 400 mph crash but each car will get a different amount of force.

sethwas · Apr 1st, 2003, 08:34 AM

The center of the impact has 0 force (cause left and right are the same sso it aint moving left or right unless the cars weigh a different amount), however the force applied on each vehicle is 400mph. Because if you are in one car or the other, it is approaching you at 400mph.

Seth

Lisa · Apr 2nd, 2003, 12:02 AM

I would think that each car would feel it as a 200 mph collision not 400 ........

my92ser · Apr 2nd, 2003, 01:02 AM

ricebox has it right

mirage · Apr 3rd, 2003, 03:15 AM

imagine it this way...have one of the cars stopped, and transfer the momentum over to the other side, so, it's like 1 car moving 400 mph hitting a stationary object... make sense? it's like those balls on strings that you see on executives' desks... you know you move one and it strikes the other 4 and the one on the end pops out...