Explosion of mass (4m) – Rankers Physics
Topic: Center of Mass , Momentum and Collision
Subtopic: Collision

Explosion of mass (4m)

A body of mass \(4m\) is lying in \(x-y\) plane at rest. It suddenly explodes into three pieces. Two pieces each of mass \(m\) move perpendicular to each other with equal speeds \(v\). The total kinetic energy generated due to explosion is:

(2014)

\(mv^2\)
\(3/2 mv^2\)
\(2 mv^2\)
\(4 mv^2\)

Solution:

Initial momentum is zero. Two pieces of mass \(m\) move with velocity \(v\) perpendicular to each other. Their momenta are \(m\vec{v}_1 = mv\hat{i}\, m\vec{v}_2 = mv\hat{j}\). The third piece has mass \(m_3 = 4m - m - m = 2m\). By momentum conservation, \(m_3\vec{v}_3 = -(mv\hat{i} + mv\hat{j})\), so \(|\vec{v}_3| = \frac{\sqrt{(mv)^2 + (mv)^2}}{2m} = \frac{\sqrt{2}mv}{2m} = \frac{v}{\sqrt{2}}\). Total KE = \(\frac{1}{2}mv^2 + \frac{1}{2}mv^2 + \frac{1}{2}(2m)(\frac{v}{\sqrt{2}})^2 = mv^2 + \frac{1}{2}mv^2 = \frac{3}{2}mv^2\).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *