In inelastic scattering, the participants exchange energy with internal degrees of freedom, so their total translational kinetic energy need not be conserved.
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Inelastic scattering is a process in which particles (such as photons, electrons, or neutrons) collide with a target and transfer some of their energy to the target during the interaction. This results in a change in the energy, momentum, or state of the incoming particles, as well as a change in the target particles.