Why can you not jump off a falling object to break your momentum?
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Well, if your legs were strong enough, then you could. Although if that were true, you wouldn’t need to break your fall.
It can be explained through classical physics! (Simplified in the context of this subreddit)
Let’s say you’re standing on the ground. Gravity of Earth is pulling you down, but why don’t you fall through the floor? You remain still because the floor is pushing *upwards* with the same force that you are pushing down with. If you apply enough force to, let’s say, a pencil – it will resist until the wood is no longer strong enough to push back with equal force, and it will snap. But before then, it will push back with the same force that is applied to it.
This is because, according to classical physics, every reaction has an equal and opposite reaction. Rockets fly upward because they shoot exhaust downward.
Now, back to free falling.
When you stand on the ground, or fall on it, it will push back at you with equal force. Your bones and internal organs, like the pencil, may not be able to apply such a force without breaking. If you were falling down at 50 MPH (American here) you would need to jump with enough force to send you upward at 50 MPH to cancel it out and nullify your fall. Your legs are not strong enough to withstand such a force, and if they were, you wouldn’t need to break your fall since they would exert the same exact force by simply absorbing the force of impact.
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