What is actually harder? A baseball or a hockey puck?

Question

I understand that NHL hockey pucks are frozen before each game, plus they are basically on the ice at all times...What weighs more and what is actually harder?

Answer 1

An NHL puck is 1" thick and 3" in diameter and weighs between 5½ and 6 oz.  An MLB baseball is about 2.9" in diameter and weighs between 5 and 5¼ oz.  Computing the volume of a cylinder vs. sphere and computing the density shows the average puck is about 66% more dense than the average baseball.  Density isn't the only measure of hardness however and there are many different measures and types of hardness such as scratch hardness, indentation hardness, rebound hardness, etc.  Also the 'hardness' of something that hits you depends on the surface area it comes in contact with.  Contrary to what many are saying, which one hurts you more isn't the true measure of hardness.  Since a baseball is spherical it will tend to apply a greater pressure to a smaller contact area when it hits you and hurt you more.  Similarly, a puck would tend to contact a larger surface area and apply less pressure despite being harder in most respects.  This would vary a bit whether the puck hit you edgewise or on the flat side. Obviously speed plays a factor too, I think a struck baseball can travel faster than a puck Al Iafrate notwithstanding.  If by hardness you simply mean molecular bonding, which is a pretty simplistic definition and not a discourse in physics, then a denser frozen puck wins hands down.

Answer 2

hockey puck

Answer 3

A puck does, Hockey players hit equal if not great than baseball players and you never saw a puck break,

where baseballs have gotten lighter for more of a curve (something to do with Aerodynamics)

Answer 4

idk but y don't u test it

justn buy a hockey puck and baseball and throw it or somthing

Answer 5

hockey pucks weight 5.5 - 6 onces and baseballs weigh 5 onces but the baseball might be slighty harder

Answer 6

Yeah, I'm not sure which is harder....But can you people honestly tell me that a puck travels at a higher rate of speed than a baseball? A Major League line drive vs an NHL slapshot....Give me a f*cking break.

Answer 7

Jenna thats kinda dumb reasoning.  which is harder, a hundred pound sack of feathers or a 50 pound sack of quarters???? which one would you rather get hit by? weight doesnt matter einstein

Answer 8

well a Puck travels faster than a baseball.

i've actually destroyed a baseball while playing (i so thought i had the homer but the ball cracked right down the middle and lost momentum so i was thrown out, but that's beside the point) And i've never seen anyone break a hockey puck in half.

P.S. i still have that ball, woulda been my first grand slam too.. oh well, it's better then my bat breaking.

Answer 9

The hockey puck is 6 oz and fills a smaller volume then the baseball, so it's at least denser. harder, probably the puck. The baseball has to be springy because of how the game is played. It's also wound with yarn around a cork center, as mentioned. A hockey puck is almost rigid, they don't want it bouncing like crazy.

Answer 10

It is frozen a few hours before the game to prevent bouncing.

The official weight of an NHL ice hockey puck is between 5.5 and 6 ounces.

The weight of a baseball is 5 ounces.

So a hockey puck is harder.

Answer 11

A Hockey Puck because I got hit by one right in the stomach and man it hurt at an exhibition game in Syracuse, NY, Columbus-Buffalo 9-22-00.

Answer 12

Frozen rubber or a ball made of cowhide stuffed with yarn and a cork.I'll take the frozen rubber as harder.

Answer 13

Hockey puck is harder

Answer 14

i will say that hockey puck is harder. or hard ball is stronger. i know how strong the hard ball is because i got hit on my face to a fastest pitcher on our basball league.( 75mile per hour)

why don't u just test it? i think that would be the best answer sogood luck on ur experiment

Answer 15

a hockey puck is harder.

Answer 16

not sure wich weighs more but a hockey puck is 8 ounces of vulcanized rubber and it hurts like h**l. but then a again so does a baseball but a hockey puck is worse

Answer 17

good question...rubber or leather sewn tightly around a hard cork...I want to say that it is a tie because you either have a puck flying at you or a ball but either way it would hurt.

just think if a 90 some mile an hour baseball hit you and you aren't wearing pads...in hockey even though the puck moves faster everyone wears heavy pads.

I can't say for sure which one is harder though

Answer 18

I think a baseball weighs more but softer than a puck. A slapshot travels faster than a baseball and, as you said, the frozen puck factor. It's also smaller so the force would be more concentrated and not spread out like a baseball. In other words, I'd rather take a Clemens (on enormous amounts of HGH) fastball to my face than a slapshot from any given player.

Answer 19

Ask my teeth

Answer 20

Check the durameter of each and that will tell you.

Answer 21

the puck is harder, think about it.... the puck is a solid rubber thing that is frozen. abaseball is layered mostly of string.