Zero Gravity Momentum

Currently in AP Physics C, our class is partaking in a unit of independent study for impulse and momentum. Along with the practice multiple choice and short response questions we had been assigned,i decided to used youtube videos to provide a better understanding of the law of conservation of momentum and how this affects real world collisions.

Among many videos of car crashes, billiard shots, and even slaps in the face, this video seemed to be the most unique due to its incorporation of a zero gravity atmosphere. As explained by Richard Garriott in the video, no matter what the collision is between the balls, whether they stick together or not, the net momentum (or mass times velocity) of the system is always conserved.

While searching for this video, i also came upon another one with not as much relevance to momentum and impulse, but providing an interesting topic to think about. If you skip to about halfway through the video, a large sphere of water with an air bubble in it is then injected with droplets of water. Due to surface tension, these droplets then bounce off the walls of water rather than joining to form one mass. Seemed pretty cool to me.