Collision of two identical cars moving in opposite dirrections

[mahela007]

What would cause more injuries to the passengers of each car? [no a pleasant example, I know]
a) car colliding against brick wall.
b) car colliding with an identical car moving in the opposite direction at the same speed.

Does it have something to do with the amount of K.E liberated / lost?

 

[XanziBar]

If the amount of kinetic energy lost in both cases is the same (like if it's completely elastic or completely inelastic, for example) then choices A and B are the same. You should also assume the cars are the same mass, there isn't much damage to a semi when it hits a sub-compact.

One of the ways to think about this problem is that in a reference frame at rest you slow down from your initial speed to zero. And in a reference frame moving with one of the cars, you slow down from your initial speed to half of your initial speed. The force you experience in each case is the same.

 

[astrokreng]

I would say that the amount of kinetic energy (KE) involved in a collision is a key factor in determining the severity of injuries to the passengers of each car. In the first scenario, the car colliding against a brick wall would experience a sudden and abrupt stop, causing a large amount of KE to be lost in a short period of time. This would result in a higher impact force being exerted on the passengers, potentially causing more severe injuries.

In the second scenario, where two identical cars are colliding with each other at the same speed, the KE of each car would be evenly distributed between them. This could potentially result in a lower impact force being exerted on each car and therefore, potentially causing less severe injuries to the passengers.

However, it is important to note that there are other factors that could also influence the severity of injuries in a collision, such as the design and safety features of the cars, the angle of impact, and the use of seatbelts and airbags. Therefore, it is difficult to determine the exact outcome without considering all of these variables.