While deriving the Doppler formula for the observed frequency of a sound wave, it is assumed that the speed of sound in the medium is greater than the source's speed through it. When this condition is breached, a shock wave occurs.
When the source's speed approaches the speed of sound, constructive interference between successive wavefronts emitted by the source occurs immediately behind it. Initially, scientists believed that this constructive interference would result in such high...

Elastic collision of a system demands conservation of both momentum and kinetic energy. To solve problems involving one-dimensional elastic collisions between two objects, the equations for conservation of momentum and conservation of internal kinetic energy can be used. For the two objects, the sum of momentum before the collision equals the total momentum after the collision. An elastic collision conserves internal kinetic energy, and so the sum of kinetic energies before the collision equals...

The shape of a small drop of liquid can be considered spherical, neglecting the effect of gravity. This drop can further be considered as two equal hemispherical drops put together due to surface tension. The forces acting on the spherical drop are due to the pressure of the liquid inside the drop, the pressure due to air outside the drop, and the force due to the surface tension acting on the two hemispherical drops.

An elastic collision is one that conserves both internal kinetic energy and momentum. Internal kinetic energy is the sum of the kinetic energies of the objects in a system. Truly elastic collisions can only be achieved with subatomic particles, such as electrons striking nuclei. Macroscopic collisions can be very nearly, but not quite, elastic, as some kinetic energy is always converted into other forms of energy such as heat transfer due to friction and sound. An example of a nearly...

When two or more objects collide with each other, they can stick together to form one single composite object (after collision). The total mass of the object after the collision is the sum of the masses of the original objects, and it moves with a velocity dictated by the conservation of momentum. Although the system's total momentum remains constant, the kinetic energy decreases, and thus such a collision is an inelastic collision. Most of the collisions between objects in daily life are...

In atomic emission spectroscopy (AES), high-temperature atomizers excite a broad range of elements and molecules that generate complex emissions from sources such as oxides, hydroxides, and flame combustion products in the flame or plasma. Several strategies can be employed to minimize spectral interferences caused by overlapping emission lines or bands. These include increasing instrument resolution, choosing alternative emission lines, optimally placing the detector in low-background regions,...