Chapter 8, Problem 19CQ

Figure 8.16 shows a cube at rest and a small object heading toward it. (a) Describe the directions (angle ${\theta }_1$ ) at which the small object can emerge after colliding elastically with the cube. How does ${\theta }_1$ depend on b, the so-called impact parameter? Ignore any effects that might be due to rotation after the collision, and assume that the cube is much more massive than the small object. (b) Answer the same questions if the small object instead collides with a massive sphere.

Figure 8.16 A small object approaches a collision with a much more massive cube, after which its velocity has the direction ${\theta }_1$. The angles at which the small object can be scattered are determined by the shape of the object it strikes and the impact parameter b.