[kuh-lizh-uh
n] 
| 1. | the act of colliding; a coming violently into contact; crash: the collision of two airplanes. |
| 2. | a clash; conflict: a collision of purposes. |
| 3. | Physics. the meeting of particles or of bodies in which each exerts a force upon the other, causing the exchange of energy or momentum. |
| col·li·sion (kə-lĭzh'ən) n.
[Middle English, from Late Latin collīsiō, collīsiōn-, from Latin collīsus, past participle of collīdere, to collide; see collide.] col·li'sion·al adj., col·li'sion·al·ly adv. Synonyms: These nouns denote violent forcible contact between two or more things: the midair collision of two light planes; the concussion caused by an explosion; a crash involving two cars; the impact of a sledgehammer on pilings; felt repeated jars as the train ground to a halt; a series of jolts as the baby carriage rolled down the steps; experienced the physical shock of a sudden fall. |
collision
1.
See collision detection.
2.
(1995-01-06)
collision
in physics, the sudden, forceful coming together in direct contact of two bodies, such as, for example, two billiard balls, a golf club and a ball, a hammer and a nail head, two railroad cars when being coupled together, or a falling object and a floor. Apart from the properties of the materials of the two objects, two factors affect the result of impact: the force and the time during which the objects are in contact. It is a matter of common experience that a hard steel ball dropped on a steel plate will rebound to almost the position from which it was dropped, whereas with a ball of putty or lead there is no rebound. The impact between the steel ball and plate is said to be elastic, and that between the putty or lead balls and plate is inelastic, or plastic; between these extremes there are varying degrees of elasticity and corresponding responses to impact. In a perfectly elastic impact (attained only at the atomic level), none of the kinetic energy of the coacting bodies is lost; in a perfectly plastic impact, the loss of kinetic energy is at a maximum.
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