Thursday, November 17, 2011

What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?

The question of what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object is known as the irresistible force paradox or the unstoppable force paradox. It is also considered an omnipotence paradox, the most famous example of which is: Could God create a stone so heavy that even He could not lift it?
The earliest know source of the irresistible force paradox is in a Chinese book of philosophy called Han Feizi, which was written in the third century BC. The story tells of a seller offering a spear that can pierce any shield and a shield that can defend from any spear. When a buyer asks what happens if the spear and shield are used against each other, the seller cannot answer. Another story from Greek mythology tells of a fox that cannot be caught and a hound that always catches its prey. When the god Zeus realizes that there is no answer to this dilemma, he turns both the fox and the hound into fixed stars.
In short, there is no possible answer to this question. An unstoppable force would require an infinite amount of energy. However, in the universe (as it exists), every force is finite and therefore stoppable. An immovable object would require an infinite amount of mass, which encounters a similar problem.
Ultimately, the existence of an unstoppable force precludes, or makes impossible, the existence of an immovable object, or vice versa. The two cannot exist in the same universe.
https://www.scienceabc.com/eyeopeners/irresistible-force-paradox-quote-solution-fanfiction-examples.html

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