inelastic
in-ee-LAS-tik
Definition
Referring to a collision in which the total kinetic energy of the colliding bodies is not conserved, often involving a change in the internal state or identity of the particles.
Etymology
Derived from the Latin 'elasticus,' meaning 'driving' or 'propelling,' with the 'in-' prefix denoting 'not,' meaning that the object does not bounce back with the same energy it possessed before the collision.
In the news
The article uses the term to describe a specific type of collision where a dark-matter particle might change into a heavier state upon striking a nucleus, as researchers look for explanations for an unusual high-energy event.
The LUX-ZEPLIN experiment beneath South Dakota found one particle interaction in 220 live days that researchers have struggled to explain using known background processes—not a dark-matter discovery, but, as physicist Eric Dahl put it, the most interestin
Read the full article ↗ScienceBlog.com