Problem 7 English Version
A. Two carts are free to move on a frictionless surface. Cart
A has an initial velocity vo and mass mA.
The second cart with mass mB is initially at rest.
Cart A makes a perfectly elastic collision with cart B along their line
of centers. Find the ratio of the masses that makes the kinetic energy
transferred to cart B a maximum.
B. If the ratio of the masses is not that calculated above, show that
the amount of energy transferred can be increased by inserting a third
cart between the first two. For optimal transfer, the mass
of the third particle is the geometric mean of the other two.