When bodies collide, they come together with some relative velocity at an initial point of contact. If it were not for the contact force that develops between them, the normal component of relative velocity would result in overlap or interference near the contact point and this interference would increase with time. This reaction force deforms the bodies into a compatible configuration in a common contact surface that envelopes the initial point of contact. Ordinarily it is quite difficult and laborious to calculate deformations that are geometrically compatible, that satisfy equations of motion and that give equal but opposite reaction forces on the colliding bodies. To avoid this detail, several different approximations have been developed for analyzing impact: rigid body impact theory, Hertz contact theory, elastic wave theory, etc. This book presents a spectrum of different theories for collision and describes where each is applicable. The question of applicability largely depends on the materials of which the bodies are composed (their hardness in the contact region and whether or not they are rate-dependent), the geometric configuration of the bodies and the incident relative velocity of the collision. These factors affect the relative magnitude of deformations in the contact region in comparison with global deformations.

A collision between hard bodies occurs in a very brief period of time.