What happens when an unstoppable force collides with an immovable object?

Answer 1

The unstoppable force stops, the immovable object moves.

At least, that's the answer that's given in Iain Banks's "Walking On Glass".

Answer 2

No matter what the physical boundaries of the experiment you give, the two "items" are mutually exclusive; therefore if you have one, you cannot have the other.

If the force is unstoppable, every object would be moved by it, and you could not have an immovable object.

If the object is immovable, no force can move it, and you could not have an unstoppable force.

So if you are in a situation where it appears you have both; one of them is not and will be proven as such when you "collide" them.

So the answer is either the force will be stopped or the object will be moved - whichever one is not what it appears.

Answer 3

The two could only exist in separate universes, and so could never come into contact with one another, unless either defied time/space/dimensional boundaries.

The claims that their would be an explosion must be false because;

- an explosion requires movement of matter. The immovable object cannot move - it is immovable. Even the particles would not move.

- an unstoppable force has no matter as it is only a force. Therefore it can't explode.

This raises the question as to whether they could collide even in the same universe - could the force pass through the object without causing movement of the object?

Answer 4

There is physically no such thing as an unmovable object. If there is a force, there is motion with acceleration given by F=ma. What you probably mean by an unmovable object is an object fixed very hard to ground. If this is really true, then your "unstoppable force" is acting on the object and the Earth modeled as one single body. Since the total mass is very large, the motion is hardly noticeable. However, if the force is extremely large, the object and teh Earth will together move noticeably under the action of the force.
Theoretically, there is an unstoppable force which may be generated from a constant velocity generator. However, it cannot be implemented practically.

Answer 5

There is physically no such thing as an unmovable object. If there is a force, there is motion with acceleration given by F=ma. What you probably mean by an unmovable object is an object fixed very hard to ground. If this is really true, then your "unstoppable force" is acting on the object and the Earth modeled as one single body. Since the total mass is very large, the motion is hardly noticeable. However, if the force is extremely large, the object and teh Earth will together move noticeably under the action of the force.
Theoretically, there is an unstoppable force which may be generated from a constant velocity generator. However, it cannot be implemented practically.

Answer 6

The immovable object will be shattered. And i really mean shattered until it no longer is an immovable object

why?

f = ma where f is force, m is mass and a the acceleration. So you definately have to suppose that this unstoppable force probably has a mass and an accleration.

In two objects by the conservation of mass theory - what happens is when two objects collide ( both moving ) is both of them move back or forward depending on which has greater force ..in opposite directions.

Now, when one is immovable it definately shatters....

Answer 7

The unstoppable force will be acted upon by the resistive force (action)of the immovable object and the immovable object is acted upon by the unstoppable force (reaction).

Therefore, the unstoppable force will be transferred to the immovable object which either may start to move as a part or wholly or explode.

Answer 8

consumer-friendly ;-) a stress isn't some thing which will be "stopped". as an get mutually, gravity pulls (down) on you once you're status up, and it does not get "stopped". What receives "stopped", is your circulation, through the floor. so, an "unstoppable stress" does not advise some thing. then, an "immovable merchandise"? What prevents an merchandise from shifting, is a stress, or a chain of forces. An "immovable merchandise" might want to both be one it truly is too puzzling to bypass for reachable forces - say, a mountain looks immovable because to bypass it you would pick to conquer friction, cohesion of rock with rock, inertia, gravity, etc. Or, it would want to really be immovable - yet considering not some thing is fastened contained in the universe, to attempt this it would advise that the article might want to, if needed, call a chain of forces of any magnitude, to counterbalance yet another set of forces of any magnitude, that you would pick to coach to it. bottom-line? Your question is incomprehensible - sorry yet it really is ;-)

Answer 9

It either continues in uniform motion going through the immovable object, slows down up to zero in the same direction or travels back from the immovable object according to Newton's laws of motion.

Answer 10

Assuming that this was possible and that the atoms also did not move or become deformed in anyway, You would essentially have an infinite energy system.

Since the time it would take to reach it's stopping point would be 0, and the unstoppable force would have to have infinite mass to be unstoppable, it would be infinite.

(or as most math professors would say in this case, undefined)

which is exacly right. Since it's not actually possible :P