Physics of Pool: Elastic Collision of Equal Masses

The final shot in the pool game is yours, but the cue and the eight ball arent nicely
lined up with any of the pockets. Looking around, the closest pocket is 4 5 degrees
off the line between the two balls. You take aim for a glancing blow, the cue ball
strikes the eight ballwhat happens next? Do you sink the eight ball? Which way
does the cue ball end up going? And how can you make the eight ball go off in a
different direction?
Pool is a great example of physics in action. After every collision, the moment um of
all the ballsthe product of their mass and velocityhas to be conserved. That is,
the total momentum before the collision has to be the same as the total momentum
after the collision. And, roughly speaking, the energy must be conserved as well; the
balls cant fling away from each other with more energy than you give them. These
two lawsthe conservat ion of energy and the conservat ion of moment um
work together to steer the balls around the table.
In this project, youll experiment with colliding masses, see how they collide, and maybe learn how to use physics
to plan the perfect pool shot!

Problem: At what angle will two equal-mass balls move away from one another after a
glancing collision?
Mat erials
2 low friction masses of equal weight (hover pucks or air hockey pucks would work best)
Smooth, flat surface (if using a pool table, try placing a foam board over the surface to reduce friction)
Protractor
Tape
String

Procedure
1. Place one puck on the surface and mark its starting position with the tape.
2. Place the second puck a foot or so away from the first puck.
3. Gently push the second puck towards the first puck, aimed so that it hits the puck at a glancing angle rather
than straight on (this may take a few practice runs).
4 . Mark a couple of points along the paths both pucks took after the collision.
5. Using the marks as a guide, lay a length of string along each of the paths taken by the pucks.
6. Use the protractor to measure the angle between the stringsthe angle at which the pucks moved away
from each other.
7. Repeat steps 1-6 several times and calculate the average angle between the strings. If the puck doesnt hit
at a glancing angle, then just skip that attempt and try again.

Result s
The angle between the pucks paths will be close to ninety degreesa right angle.

Why?
In an elast ic collision, both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved. Momentum is given by mv and kinetic
energy by mv 2, where m is mass and v is velocity. If v c represents the velocity of the moving puck
before the collision, v ais the velocity of the moving puck after the collision, and v b is the velocity of the
stationary puck after the collision, then conservation of kinetic energy leads to:

mv c2 = mv a2 + mv b2
Because all the masses are equal, the ms cancel and you end up with:
v c 2 = v a2 + v b2

This equation has the exact same form as the Pyt hagorean T heorem, c 2 = a2 + b2 where a and b are the
sides of a right triangle and c is the hypotenuse. This only works if v a and v b are at right angles to one another.

The conservation of momentum adds some depth (and complexity). Momentum is a little more complicated
because it has to be broken down into component s: the momentum along the original direction of motion (x)
and momentum perpendicular to that direction (y). Momentum in both directions has to be conserved. Initially, all
the momentum is in the x direction:
mv cx = mv ax + mv bx
Canceling the masses, you end up with
v cx = v ax + v bx
In the y direction, there is initially no momentum. To make everything balance, that means the y-direction
momentums after the collision must perfectly cancel:
mv cy = 0 = mv ay + mv by
0 = v ay + v by
v ay = -v by
Putting this together with the conservation of energy, you find that all the velocity components after the collision
have the same magnitude, with the y components pointing in different directions. You end up with the final
velocities pointing at right angles away from each other.

In an inelast ic collision, kinetic energy is not conserved; some energy is lost to the surroundings. This means
that, while the y components of the velocity still have to cancel, the x components can be different. The balls will
no longer bounce away at right angles.
In reality, perfectly elastic collisions rarely happen; some energy is always lost. Collisions between subatomic
particles (protons and electrons) are very nearly elastic; so are atoms in an ideal gas. Space probes that
slingshot around a planet behave the same way as elastic collisions as well.

Going Furt her

What happens if you use pucks (or balls) with different masses? For example, if youre using air hockey pucks, try
making the stationary puck be two pucks stacked on top of one another. What changes?
What happens if you use a surface that isnt smooth (for example, a carpet)? How does that change the angle? Is
it less than or more than a right angle? Can you explain what youre seeing using the equations mentioned
above?