Coefficient of restitution

The coefficient of restitution (COR, also denoted by e), is the ratio of the relative velocity of separation after collision to the relative velocity of approach before collision. It can also be defined as the square root of the ratio of the final kinetic energy to the initial kinetic energy. It normally ranges from 0 to 1 where 1 would be a perfectly elastic collision. A perfectly inelastic collision has a coefficient of 0, but a 0 value does not have to be perfectly inelastic. It is measured in the Leeb rebound hardness test, expressed as 1000 times the COR, but it is only a valid COR for the test, not as a universal COR for the material being tested.

The value is almost always less than 1 due to initial translational kinetic energy being lost to rotational kinetic energy, plastic deformation, and heat. It can be more than 1 if there is an energy gain during the collision from a chemical reaction, a reduction in rotational energy, or another internal energy decrease that contributes to the post-collision velocity.

$${\displaystyle {\text{Coefficient of restitution }}(e)={\frac {\left|{\text{Relative velocity of separation after collision}}\right|}{\left|{\text{Relative velocity of approach before collision}}\right|}}={\sqrt {\frac {\left|{\text{Final kinetic energy}}\right|}{\left|{\text{Initial kinetic energy}}\right|}}}}$$

The mathematics were developed by Sir Isaac Newton in 1687.^[1] It is also known as Newton's experimental law.