Template:POTD/2008-02-22
A bouncing ball captured with a stroboscopic flash. As the ball falls freely under the influence of gravity, it accelerates downward, its initial potential energy converting into kinetic energy. On impact with a hard surface the ball deforms, converting the kinetic energy into elastic potential energy. Each impact of the ball is a partially inelastic collision, meaning that energy is lost at each bounce.Photo credit: Michael Maggs