Problem

Newton’s cradle is a common desk toy consisting of a number of identical pendulums with st...

Newton’s cradle is a common desk toy consisting of a number of identical pendulums with steel balls as bobs. These pendulums are arranged in a row in such a way that, when at rest, each ball is tangent to the next and the cords are all vertical. Assume that the COR for the impact of a ball with the next is e = 1.

Explain why if you release the two balls to the far left from a certain angle, the balls in question come to a stop right after impact while all the other balls do not seem to move except for the two balls to the far right, which swing upward and achieve a maximum swing angle equal to the initial release angle of the two balls to the far left.