The LSOP crew had some leftover pumpkins from Halloween 2024, and we wondered if they could survive a drop off of the 3rd floor.

Free Fallin’

As the pumpkin falls, it speeds up; in physics, we say that the gravitational potential energy is converted in to kinetic energy. When the pumpkin hits the ground, the ground applies a force which makes the pumpkin stop. We’d say that this force dissipates the kinetic energy as thermal energy. If the force is too big, the pumpkin will break.

Cushioning the Blow

The force of impact depends on the weight of the pumpkin, the speed its moving, and the time of the impact. Padding the pumpkin can make it slow down over a longer time once it hits the ground. Even though this impact still only lasts a fraction of second, it can be enough time for it to survive. As you can see, an unpadded pumpkin stands no chance!