Open AccessModeling the Interaction of an Elastic Collision between two Objects
Author(s) -
Alejandro González Y Hernández,
María del Pilar Segarra Alberú
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of physics. conference series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1742-6596
pISSN - 1742-6588
DOI - 10.1088/1742-6596/1929/1/012016
Subject(s) - collision , track (disk drive) , relation (database) , magnet , elastic collision , physics , simulation , computer science , mechanics , mechanical engineering , engineering , nuclear physics , computer security , database , electron
Physics undergraduate students researched the interaction between magnets during an elastic collision of two gliders on an air track. The objective of this research was to achieve students to discover the dynamics of an elastic collision before, during and after the time in which repulsive magnetic forces acted over two gliders on an air track. For several years it has been introduced, in our course of mechanical laboratory, a discovery cycle which is followed by students and has helped them to develop or improve their scientific skills of reasoning. The students began their investigations with an experiment to find the relation between the repulsion magnetic force with the distance of separation between magnets. Then, they videotaped and analyzed the experiment of collisions between magnets attached to gliders on an air track and modeled numerically the forces of interaction during the collision using the relation between the magnetic force with the distance founded previously. At last, they successfully compared the numerical model with the experiment. Here it is reported, how students carried out the experiment of magnetic collisions and its theoretical and numerical modelling and, how they get a better understanding of the concepts, laws, and principles of physics that are immersed in real collisions in the laboratory by the application of the discovery cycle.