Inelastic scattering refers to a type of collision between particles where the total kinetic energy is not conserved due to the transfer of energy into internal excitation states of the colliding particles. This process is significant in understanding nuclear reaction mechanisms and nucleon-nucleon interactions, as it reveals how energy can be distributed among various degrees of freedom, such as rotational or vibrational states in nuclei.
congrats on reading the definition of inelastic scattering. now let's actually learn it.