A tictac dropped from the top of a 3rd story building would...?

Question

leave a welt the size of a softball on someone's head, but a raindrop of the same size, falling from 10,000'+ feels like not much more than a poke with a finger.... why doesn't it hurt like a tictac?

Even a small hailstone the size of a tictac wouldn't hurt like a tictac would.... someone help!!! this has been driving me crazy all week!! lol

Thanks!!

Answer 1

Cause little light things get slowed down by air resistance.

10lbs of lead and 10lbs of feathers weigh the same but if you toss them both off of a roof, the lead hits first.

The tic-tac, rain, hailstone hit their max velocity and can't go any faster.  

That's why the tic tac won't kill someone if thrown off a building.

Answer 2

The raindrop hits terminal velocity, beyond which it goes no faster.  Which is why we call it "terminal".  In fact, some raindrops go no faster than the winds that blow them around; so their terminal velocities are not very high...say, 30 mph or so.  And, as someone said already, raindrops are liquid, while tictacs are solid.

I doubt your tictac would hurt much either.  From 25 feet up (three stories), v = sqrt(2gH) = sqrt(64*25) ~ 40 fps is the velocity without drag considered.  That's less than 30 mph and, with drag, the velocity of the tictac impact would be even less than that.  Given the tictac weighs less than an ounce, I think the impact force would be very slight.

Answer 3

two things to consider -

first, objects soon reach a terminal velocity due to air resistance,

so the extra height doesn't really matter.

second, the tictac is hard, whereas the water drop spreads on impact....

Answer 4

LOL

Answer 5

a tic tac would not leave a softball sized welt on anyone's head if dropped from three stories. that is stupid. experiment and try it. perhaps if the tic tac were shot from a pellet gun it could cause a small bruise. think about it! the shot from a pellet gun doesnt even cause a softball size welt and it's going much faster than a tic tac dropped off a roof!

the reason that raindrops dont injure anyone is that if something is falling pulled down by gravity it does not continue to accelerate forever. it accelerates to a certain speed and then continues to fall at that speed until it hits the ground. also, there is air resistance against the raindrop as it falls helping to slow it down. hailstones hurt more because they dont come apart into a million bits when they touch your head. they stay in one peice and their full impact is felt.