If two objects collide, will the collision force be twice as big as the original force?

Asked Apr 15 '14 at 16:09

Active Apr 15 '14 at 16:09

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Say, if we have two trucks travelling towards eachother at 60m/s, and those two trucks carry the same payload, and are the same model (aka they're exactly the same), will the collision force be as if just one truck crashed into a wall at 120m/s?

Theoretically the forces will balance each other out, but it won't always be this way.

asked Apr 15 '14 at 16:09

AStopher

Are you familiar with the similar problem of a horse pulling a rope attached to a pole compared to two horses pulling a single rope in opposite directions? – BMS Apr 15 '14 at 16:18
Do you want elastic collisions or 'smashing' collisions? – Shubham Apr 15 '14 at 16:55
Set up an experiment and test it ;) – Antonio Ragagnin Apr 15 '14 at 18:34
To paraphrase the duplicate answer, the answer is that a truck at 120mph hitting a wall is more forceful than two trucks each at 60mph colliding head-on. – DumpsterDoofus Apr 15 '14 at 19:30

If two objects collide, will the collision force be twice as big as the original force?

0 Answers0