Unequal-mass collision. In the collision of two particles, the reference frame in which one is initially at rest and the other moving with velocity v is called the laboratory frame. Suppose the moving mass is m and the stationary one is 2m.
(a) What is the velocity of the center-of-mass frame with respect to the laboratory frame?
(b) How much kinetic energy is lost in both the laboratory and center-of-mass frames in a completely inelastic collision, i.e., one in which the particles stick together?
(c) If the collision is elastic, the velocities of the particles in the center-of-mass frame are changed in direction but not in magnitude. Find an expression relating the angle of deviation (usually called angle of scattering) of the mass m in the laboratory and in the center-of-mass frames
