Catching

An Egg: If we held our hand out and didn’t move it the egg would smash. The change in momentum happens in a short time, making the force large. If we cup the egg and move our hands down as we catch it we make it take longer to come to a complete stop. Increasing the time taken decreases the force and the egg remains intact.

Cricket Ball: If we didn’t move our hands it would hurt when the ball stopped in our hands. If we make it take longer to stop we reduce the force on our hands from the ball.