What happens when an irresistible force meets an unmovable object?

Answer 1

The answer is actually very simple. When the force hits the object, the force would shake slightly, just keep shaking on the object. That way the object won't move, and the force won't stop. This doesn't break any laws of physics, either.

Or that fact that you can't have both at the same time. If it is unstoppable then nothing can be unmovable and vice versa. i think that the unstoppable force would win. If the force is U, and the object is also then U-U=nothing. BUT! when the force is moving it gathers speed and if speed is represented as S then it U becomes US. so US-S=S. and all that is left of the force is s then it wins.

Answer

There is no such thing as an unstoppable force, or an immovable object. Things like nuclear explosions or planets come close, but not close enough.

Answer

This is known as the 'Irresistible Force Paradox'.

An irresistible force would have to possess (effectively) infinite energy, which is impossible for a finite universe. Also, for a universe in which irresistible forces are possible, immovable objects would not be (therein lies the crux of the paradox). For the sake of the question, we would also have to assume that both are indestructible, subverting the obvious answer that both would be destroyed.

This is related to the 'Omniscience Paradox' - the question "can God create a stone that is too heavy for even Him to lift?"

If an irresistible force meets an immovable object, the immovable object moves and the irresistible force stops. This is one rational answer for an irrational question.

Another view: They get married, settle down, raise a few kids, and live happily ever after...

Answer 2

here are a few ideas. (assuming that you break a couple laws of everything.)

*The unstoppable force would change the direction of motion.

*The Unstoppable force would pass through it.

*And the most probable (in this impossible situation): nothing, pure unadulterated nothing.

*This is a paradox and it is impossible.The irresistible force paradox, also called the unstoppable force paradox, is a classic paradox formulated as "What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?" This paradox is a form of the omnipotence paradox, which is a simple demonstration that challenges omnipotence: ("Can God create a stone so heavy that not even God is strong enough to lift it?"). The immovable object and the irresistible force are both implicitly assumed to be indestructible, or else the question would have a trivial resolution ("it destroys it"). Furthermore, it is assumed that they are two separate entities, since an irresistible force is implicitly an immovable object, and vice versa.

The paradox arises because it rests on two premises-that there exist such things as irresistible forces and immovable objects-which cannot both be true at once. If there exists an irresistible force, it follows logically that there cannot be any such thing as an immovable object, and vice versa

Answer 3

We cannot say.

Firstly) A force is is not an object in motion. A force is an influence.

Secondly) If the question is really "What would happen if two unstoppable objects hit each other?', that would require a suspension of the laws of physics, and if the laws of physics are suspended then we cannot postulate what might happen.

But....

if these two objects did not hit head on they would (possiby?) fly off from each other in new directions.

if they did hit head on and at different velocities then one might be absorbed into the other, which would continue in the direction in which it had been travelling

if they hit head on and at the same velocity then the universe might be reborn! :-)

Answer 4

This is a paradoxical scenario because an irresistible force by definition cannot be stopped, while an immovable object cannot be moved. In reality, such a situation cannot exist because it defies the laws of physics.

Answer 5

You get the equivalent of a roundhouse kick to the face... from Chuck Norris.

Answer 6

Since these are extremes that cannot be acheived due to the laws of physics, it cannot happen. However, If it could happen, I suspect a paradox would happen.

Answer 7

To be unstopable a mass must be the most powerful force in the universe. The same for an immovable object there for canot exist in the same universe.

Answer 8

I am just wondering and I know a paradoxical question does not have a factual answer, but I am curious about the theories... :D