Collision
![Deflection happens when an object hits a plane surface. If the kinetic energy after impact is the same as before impact, it is an elastic collision. If kinetic energy is lost, it is an inelastic collision. It is not possible to determine from the diagram whether the illustrated collision was elastic or inelastic, because no velocities are provided. The most one can say is that the collision was not perfectly inelastic, because in that case the ball would have stuck to the wall.](/Images/godic/202412/18/Deflection3844.png")
A collision is an event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other for a relatively short time. Although the most common colloquial use of the word "collision" refers to incidents in which two or more objects collide, the scientific use of the word "collision" implies nothing about the magnitude of the force.