I've noticed a curious behavior of my plastic hamper and laundry baskets. When they are empty tossing them more then a few feet from hip height (3 feet) causes them to bounce and tumble. Yet when they are full of clothing the same experiment causes them to reliably land with a solid thud without any bounce. What's happening here?
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asked Dec 28, 2019 at 0:37
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$\begingroup$ FWIW, the behavior your are describing is called "inelastic collision." You might try typing that into Google. $\endgroup$– Solomon SlowCommented Dec 28, 2019 at 1:50
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1 Answer
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The clothes, being highly inelastic, tend to crumple on impact, converting most of their kinetic energy into heat. The plastic has greater elasticity than the clothes, so more of it's kinetic energy is conserved after impact. This causes it to bounce well when empty. When clothes are in it, they have a more inelastic collision against the plastic, damping it's rebound immediately after collision with the floor.
answered Dec 28, 2019 at 1:42
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$\begingroup$ So would the bounce be just as high if the clothes were fully compressed, say in a vacuum bag? $\endgroup$ Commented Dec 28, 2019 at 4:57