Newton’s cradle undone: Experiments and collision models for the normal collision of three solid spheres

Abstract

Using an apparatus inspired by Newton’s cradle, the simultaneous, normal collision between three solid spheres is examined. Namely, an initially touching, motionless pair of “target” particles (doublet) is impacted on one end by a third “striker” particle. Measurements of postcollisional velocities and collision durations are obtained via high-speed photography and an electrical circuit, respectively. Contrary to intuition, the expected Newton's cradle outcome of a motionless, touching particle pair at the bottom of the pendulum arc is not observed in either case. Instead, the striker particle reverses its direction and separates from the middle particle after collision. This reversal is not observed, however, if the target particles are separated by a small distance (not in contact) initially, although a separation still occurs between the striker and middle particle after the collision, with both particles traveling in the same direction. For the case of initially touching target particles, contact duration measurements indicate that the striker separates from the three particles before the two target particles separate. However, when the targets are slightly separated, a three-particle collision is never observed, and the collision is, in fact, a series of two-body collisions. A subsequent implementation of a variety of hard-sphere and soft-sphere collision models indicates that a three-body (soft-sphere) treatment is essential for predicting the velocity reversal, consistent with the experimental findings. Finally, a direct comparison between model predictions and measurements of postcollisional velocities and contact durations provides a gauge of the relative merits of existing collision models for three-body interactions.