Where does the kinetic energy ‘go’ in a car crash that crumples the hood?

Question

Everybody talks about modern cars having crumple zones that “absorb” the impact in a collision so that the people inside don’t get injured, and that’s awesome! But I’m confused about the conservation of energy.. if two 2,000 lb cars crash into each other at 50mph, does ALL that energy get converted into heat and noise in the collision? Does it somehow get stored as potential energy in the crumple zone? Does it do something else?

In: Physics

Answer 1

Heat, noise, the mechanical work required to displace the metal from its prior state, the kinetic energy imparted to the air molecules around the impact, lots of things.