If you throw 1 kg cotton and 1 kg watermelon at somone, why does the watermelon hit you harder despite it being the same weight?

Question

If you throw 1 kg cotton and 1 kg watermelon at somone, why does the watermelon hit you harder despite it being the same weight?

In: 0

Answer 1

To add to other answers you could think of it like this:

1kg of water vs 1 kg of solid ice thrown at you.

The water is highly deformable and will flow around you spreading its energy over a large area and a longer duration of time. This means the overall force is reduced.

The ice does the opposite.