Rhett Allain
1 min readJul 23, 2019

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If you are asking about the impact forces during the collision — that’s a bit more difficult. That would depend on the exact time that the two cars are interacting. If the collision lasts for a longer time (still super short), then there would be less impact force. If the two cars were super rigid, then the impact time would be shorter with a greater force.

But yes, increasing the initial speed of Steve’s car would increase the impact force too. Of course, this is why modern cars have air bags — https://www.wired.com/story/the-insane-physics-of-airbags/ they increase the stopping time and decrease the impact force.

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Rhett Allain
Rhett Allain

Written by Rhett Allain

Physics faculty, science blogger of all things geek. Technical Consultant for CBS MacGyver and MythBusters. WIRED blogger.

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