Two small balls A and B , each having mass m , are rigidly attached to the ends of a light rod of length L as depicted in the figure. On a frictionless horizontal surface, the system translates with a velocity v₀ in a direction perpendicular to the rod. A particle P of mass m , initially at rest on the surface, sticks to the ball A when they collide. Determine the linear speeds of the balls A and B immediately after

Step-by-step solution

According to the given hint, the light rod can exert an impulsive force only along its length. During the collision, the impulsive force between particle P and ball A acts in a direction perpendicular to the rod. Since the rod cannot transmit any impulse perpendicular to its length, it exerts zero transverse impulse on ball B . As a result, the velocity of ball B remains unchanged immediately after the collision: v_B = v₀ For the system comprising ball A and particle P , there is no external impulsive force in the