When you throw an object away in space, why do you accelerate as well instead of just transferring all energy to the movement of the object?
In: Physics
There isn’t precisely a “why” in the sense that there’s a reason behind it; we don’t know *why* momentum is conserved, it just is.
In this case, momentum being conserved means that, for every bit of momentum given to the object, an equal and opposing amount of momentum must also be transferred to you, and as a result you end up moving in the opposite direction.
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