I understand that they have two similar but different formula’s that both scale differently with velocity. I also understand that momentum has a direction ie. Vectored, and kinetic energy is directionless. What I can’t wrap my head around is how they are seperate properties with differing values and how it interacts with forces on an object.
For example, when an object collides with a wall, momentum drops to zero, the change in momentum requires the wall to exert force on the object and it involves some work done, and therefore energy. At the same time, the kinetic energy of the object is also released as heat(?)
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Momentum increases linearly with velocity. A 10kg object moving at 20 m/s has twice as much momentum as the same object moving at 10 m/s.
Kinetic energy is quadratic, because the formula for KE takes half of an object’s mass and multiplies it by the square of the velocity, thus doubling the velocity quadruples the kinetic energy.
Also, momentum is always conserved, meaning that the amount of momentum in a given system never changes, it’s merely transferred to other objects in that system. Kinetic energy, by comparison, can be converted into other forms of energy, depending on if the collision is elastic or inelastic.
The simplest way to differentiate between the two is this: Momentum is a description of the amount of mass in motion, while kinetic energy is a description of the amount of energy that object is carrying due to its motion.
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