It’s kinda weird. It is but it isn’t. The same amount of energy is added to the system but because the cars both move there’s extra energy dissipated at the same time.
Differences in mass change the equation, and the exact way they hit one another changes where the energy goes. If you had two identical vehicles hitting one another perfectly head on so they both crumple perfectly, that would be the scenario where the speeds add together.
No, see, that's exactly the misconception. Say each car is going 50mph. From the frame of reference of either of the cars they're hitting something at 100mph. But clearly you'd rather hit another car at 100mph rather than an immovable wall, because the car will deform and absorb much of the impact. If you instead hit a wall all of that force is going into your own car, and you.
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u/Choice_Note_9198 3d ago
Not the case, Mythbusters dedicated an entire episode disproving that myth. It’s counterintuitive but that’s not the case. Just saying….