Elastic collision is a
collision in which the total
kinetic energy of the colliding bodies after collision is equal to their total kinetic energy before collision. Elastic collisions occur only if there is no conversion of kinetic energy into other forms, as in the collision of
atoms. In the case of macroscopic bodies this will not be the case as some of the energy will become
heat. In a collision between polyatomic
molecules, some kinetic energy may be converted into
vibrational[?] and
rotational energy[?] of the molecules, but otherwise molecular collisions appear to be elastic.
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