A parameter associated with the behaviour of two bodies during a collision. Suppose that two billiard balls are travelling in the same straight line and have velocities u1 and u2 before the collision and velocities v1 and v2 after the collision. If the coefficient of restitution is e, then
This formula is Newton’s law of restitution. The coefficient of restitution always satisfies 0 ≤ e ≤ 1. When e = 0, the balls remain in contact after the perfectly inelastic collision. When e = 1, the collision is perfectly elastic: there is no loss of kinetic energy.