Elastic Collision: A Reflective Analysis

Why does the first billiard ball come to rest after colliding with an identical stationary ball in an elastic collision?

The first ball comes to rest after the collision because of the conservation of momentum and energy in an elastic collision.

When a moving billiard ball collides with an identical stationary billiard ball in an elastic collision, the total momentum of the system is conserved. This means that the initial momentum of the moving ball is transferred to both balls after the collision. Due to the conservation of momentum, the first ball comes to rest because the second ball gains the same speed that the first ball originally had.

In an elastic collision, the kinetic energy of the system before and after the collision remains the same. This means that there is no net transfer of kinetic energy into other forms such as heat or sound. The energy is simply transferred between the two colliding objects without any loss.

By applying the principles of conservation of momentum and energy, it can be concluded that the first billiard ball comes to rest after the collision with the stationary ball in an elastic collision.