u/Cute_Consideration38

So on the show, Mythbusters, they were talking about two vehicles traveling at the same speed towards each other and having a head-on collision.

Say their speed is 80 mph. At first they said that this would be equal to a person hitting a concrete (immovable) wall at 160 mph. Then they said that viewers wrote to tell them that was wrong and that it would be equal to hitting a wall at 80 miles per hour.

My question:

1. Is that correct?

It seems to be correct since, assuming the vehicles were identical and crashed exactly head-on in the center, then the energy would match that of the other vehicle thereby making it 0 mph for both. Which is what a concrete wall would do. But i have some smart friends who say 80 + 80 = 160. Lol