Colliding without touching: Using magnets and copper pipe fittings to explore the energetics of a completely inelastic collision

This article describes a simple, inexpensive method for collecting force and motion data from a completely inelastic collision. We describe the use of an inductive magnetic interaction to produce a collision that involves no physical contact and occurs on a sufficiently slow time scale for detailed analysis. The resulting collision will be engaging for introductory high school or college students. We also describe intriguing and reproducible features of the time-dependent force interaction that student can explore in more advanced physics courses.