This kind of random agitation at the microscopic level that I have just introduced is what we know today as thermal energy, and it is by far the most common “sink” or reservoir where macroscopic mecha...This kind of random agitation at the microscopic level that I have just introduced is what we know today as thermal energy, and it is by far the most common “sink” or reservoir where macroscopic mechanical energy is “dissipated.” In our example of an inelastic collision, the energy the objects had is not gone from the universe, in fact it is still right there inside the objects themselves; it is just in a disorganized or incoherent state from which, as you can imagine, it would be pretty much i…
