Editing Newton's cradle (section)

====Other examples of this effect====
The effect of the last ball ejecting with a velocity nearly equal to the first ball can be seen in sliding a coin on a table into a line of identical coins, as long as the striking coin and its twin targets are in a straight line. The effect can similarly be seen in billiard balls. The effect can also be seen when a [[spallation|sharp and strong pressure wave strikes a dense homogeneous material immersed in a less-dense medium]]. If the identical [[atom]]s, [[molecule]]s, or larger-scale sub-volumes of the dense homogeneous material are at least partially elastically connected to each other by electrostatic forces, they can act as a sequence of colliding identical elastic balls. 

The surrounding atoms, molecules, or sub-volumes experiencing the pressure wave act to constrain each other similarly to how the string constrains the cradle's balls to a straight line. As a medical example, [[lithotripsy]] shock waves can be sent through the skin and tissue without harm to [[Kidney stone disease|burst kidney stones]]. The side of the stones opposite to the incoming pressure wave bursts, not the side receiving the initial strike. In the Indian game [[carrom]], a striker stops after hitting a stationery playing piece, transferring all of its momentum into the piece that was hit.