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the reason we use reduced mass is because we want to conserve momentum, and the centre of mass should remain at the same place for this to happen(read about conservation of momentum).
to make things easy, the reduced mass concept allows us to replace two masses by a single one, at the centre of mass. the calculations after this stage are same as normal (replace masses by reduced mass), because we now know where the particles will meet(centre of mass!!)
just imagine how tedious the same sum would be without this concept!!
remember that momentum is ALWAYS CONSERVED, so the centre of mass cannot move!
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Moderation Team
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