A billiard-theoretic approach to elementary one-dimensional elastic collisions

Abstract

A simple relation is developed between the elastic collisions of freely moving particles in one dimension and a corresponding billiard system. For two particles with masses m1 and m2 on the half-line x>0 that approach an elastic barrier at x=0, the corresponding billiard system is an infinite wedge. The collision history of the two particles can be easily inferred from the corresponding billiard trajectory. This connection explains the classic demonstrations of the “dime on the superball” and the “baseball on the basketball” that are a staple in elementary physics courses. It also is shown that three elastic particles on an infinite line and three particles on a finite ring correspond, respectively, to the motion of a billiard ball in an infinite wedge and on a triangular billiard table. It is shown how to determine the angles of these two sets in terms of the particle masses.