may even generalize still further, and assert that whenever the visible momentum of a body is transferred to a larger mass, there is at the same time the conversion of visible energy into heat.
124. A little explanation will be required to make this point clear.
The third law of motion tells us that action and reaction are equal and opposite, so that when two bodies come into collision the forces at work generate equal and opposite quantities of momentum. We shall best see the meaning of this law by a numerical example, bearing in mind that momentum means the product of mass into velocity.
For instance, let us suppose that an inelastic body of mass 10 and velocity 20 strikes directly another inelastic body of mass 15 and velocity 15, the direction of both motions being the same.
Now, it is well known that the united mass will, after impact, be moving with the velocity 17. What, then, has been the influence of the forces developed by collision? The body of greater velocity had before impact a momentum , while its momentum after impact is only ; it has therefore suffered a loss of 30 units as regards momentum, or we may consider that a momentum of 30 units has been impressed upon it in an opposite direction to its previous motion.
On the other hand, the body of smaller velocity had before impact a momentum , while after
