In the game of cricket, more force is required on the part of the batsman to send the bowl bowled by a fast bowler back past the bowler than guiding the ball past the wicketkeeper. Impact is dependent upon the relative velocities of the two bodies that collide. The impact or the force felt by bodies is in direct proportion to the amount of force and the time period for which collision takes place. Impact is the sudden force felt by two bodies when they collide. Impact is another important concept in the study of collisions of moving bodies and their results. This also means that same change in momentum can be induced in a body with a large force operating over a small time period and a small force operating over a long period of time. This implies that change in momentum of a body is a product of the force applied on it for some duration. Now, we know that acceleration is rate of change of velocityīut the product of mass and its velocity is its momentum Where F is the force applied, m is the mass of the body and ‘a’ is its acceleration.

The relation between the force and the change in velocity of a body is given by Newton’s 2nd law of motion in the following equation When a force is applied to a body, it changes its momentum.

There are many differences in the two concepts that will be harped upon in this article. But is there only this much between impact and impulse? These are terms widely used in physics in the study of motion (mechanics). We get to know about the impact great people had on the minds of successful people of today in their autobiographies and the sudden feeling or an impulse people have to indulge in an act that was totally predetermined. Lawyers try to minimize the impact of the crime committed by their clients by saying that it was on an impulsive action that was on the spur of the moment and not really intentional. The words impact and impulse are freely used in our daily lives.

Impulse and impulsive force