Eli5 :How can you generally approximate what the impact forces and time frame of impulse will be in a collision, using both momentum and kinetic energy ?

Question

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sCmX5R7KDFM
Expanding on this video, is it proper to think of of KE as a force being applied over a distance, and as thats happening kinetic energy is being lost and it’s being converted into another form of energy , such as heat, sound, elastic potential energy , or plastic deformation. And do you generally need the material densities l/tensile strengths to determine the impact forces and collision time intervals?

In: 0

Answer 1

The dynamics of impacts are generally very complicated, meaning it’s extremely difficult to know ahead of time exactly how long a collision will last, what the peak forces will be, how much things will change shape, etc. It’s so complicated that the easiest way to figure these things out is to measure them. That’s why we still use crash test dummies and we still run cars into walls and other cars to figure out their crashworthiness.