The second great conserved quantity in physics — and the key to understanding every collision, explosion, and impact in the universe. Four episodes. One unbreakable law.
Episode Guide — Season 4
Mass times velocity — a vector that captures both how much and which way an object is moving. The foundation everything else in this unit builds on.
Forces applied over time change momentum. Impulse is that change — and the area under a force vs. time graph is the most tested version of this idea.
In an isolated system, total momentum never changes — no matter how violent the interaction inside. This is the most powerful tool in the unit.
All collisions conserve momentum. Only elastic collisions also conserve kinetic energy. Know the difference, identify which type you have, and solve.