ABSENCE OF INELASTIC COLLAPSE IN A REALISTIC 3 BALL MODEL

Inelastic collapse, the process in which a number of partially inelast ic balls dissipate their energy through an infinite number of collisio ns in a finite amount of time, is studied for three balls on an infini te line and on a ring (i.e., a line segment with periodic boundary con ditions). Inelastic collapse has been shown to exist for systems in wh ich collisions occur with a coefficient of restitution r independent o f the relative velocities of the colliding particles. In the present s tudy, a more realistic model is assumed for r: r=1 for relative veloci ty equal to zero, and r decreases monotonically for increasing relativ e velocity. With this model, inelastic collapse does not occur for thr ee balls on a line or a ring.