system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
In a collision where linear momentum is conserved, kinetic energy is lost. Where does it go?

I understand the mathematics of the difference in that Ek is proportional to V^2, while p is proportional to V, but I can't figure where the energy 'goes'.  
  
As an example, if you had two point masses both of mass m, with m1 having a velocity of V and m2 being stationary, if they collide and move off together, they'll have a velocity of V/2 and the same total linear momentum, but a kinetic energy a quarter of what it was initially. I just can't see where that energy has gone.
gpt
If you have two point masses, they *can't* collide like that. They have to collide elastically to preserve both momentum and kinetic energy.

If you have two *actual* masses, kinetic energy can go into heat, sound, and deformation of the objects, thus allowing inelastic collisions like the one you described to occur.