Answer to Question #246944 in Physics for And

Question

You are a civil engineer and one thing that you needed to ensure is the quality and the necessary materials for a project. Explain interms of impulse how padding reduces forces in a collision. State this interms of a real example, such as the advantages of a carpeted vs. tile floor for a day care center.

Answer 1

What hurts people and objects as they fall on hard surfaces is the forces that cause the deformation of objects. A force can be found as impulse times time:

$$F=Jt.$$

We know that impulse can be expressed in terms of momentum change, or mass times change in velocity. Since carpets add a layer of material between the falling object and hard floor, the time it takes to reach the hard surface increases. This is possible by the decrease in impulse.