... the end of the pendulum. The pendulum must be capable of incorporating the projectile so that the collision is inelastic and the projectile and pendulum move as a single unit. Examples would be a bullet into a block of wood, or a ball into a trapping basket, such as was used in this experiment. It should be noted that the kinetic energy of the projectile is not conserved during the collision, because of energy losses from such things as sound, heat, or permanent mechanical deformation of the projectile and/or the pendulum. To test the law of conservation of momentum, a steel ball was fired into a pendulum that had a trap at the end. The ball would enter the trap, and the ball and pendulum would begin to move together in an upward swing of the pendulum. Once the ball has become one with the pendulum, the law of conservation ...

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