Epäelastisia

Epäelastisia is a Finnish adjective that translates to "inelastic" in English. It is primarily used in physics and materials science to describe a material or collision where kinetic energy is not conserved. In the context of materials, an inelastic material undergoes permanent deformation when subjected to stress beyond its elastic limit. This means that once the stress is removed, the material does not return to its original shape. Examples of inelastic behavior in materials include plastic deformation, fracture, and yielding.

In the context of collisions, an inelastic collision is one where some or all of the kinetic energy of the colliding objects is converted into other forms of energy, such as heat, sound, or deformation. In a perfectly inelastic collision, the colliding objects stick together after the collision and move as a single unit. In a partially inelastic collision, kinetic energy is lost, but the objects do not necessarily stick together. The opposite of inelastic is elastic, where kinetic energy is conserved during a collision or after deformation. Understanding the concept of epäelastisia is crucial for analyzing the behavior of materials under stress and predicting the outcomes of collisions.