Carly Donahue

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

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 Newtons 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 dura...