Shock (mechanics)

Imagine you and your friend are playing catch with a ball. When you catch the ball, it hits your hand and stops moving. This happens because your hand applies a force to the ball to stop it from moving. Now imagine instead of a ball, you are catching a brick. When the brick hits your hand, it doesn't stop moving because it has more weight than the ball. This means that the brick applies force back to your hand, which can hurt or even damage your hand.

When anything collides with something else, it creates a shock. This is because the force of the collision is so great that it causes an impact that travels through the object it hit and the surrounding material, like air or water, causing a disturbance. We can measure the size of this shock by using a unit called Newtons (N).

Shock can be useful in some situations, like when we use a hammer to knock a nail into a piece of wood. The force of the hammer hitting the nail creates a shock, which makes the nail go into the wood. However, too much shock can be harmful. For example, if you jump from a high place and land on your feet, the force of the impact can cause a shock that travels through your body, which can be painful and might even injure your bones and joints.

So, shock is a term used to describe the force created when two things collide. We measure it using units called Newtons and while it can sometimes be helpful, like the hammer and nail situation, it can also be harmful if the force is too great.