The Division of a Rock (and Infinite Divisibility)

Take a rock of any size.

Now, split it in two.

Is the rock now two rocks? Or is it still one?

If it is still one rock, then under that premise maybe there really is only one, universal Rock on Earth, perhaps in the entire universe.

If it is two, then if you continue to divide it, when does it stop being a rock? At the molecular level? Atomic? When? And with that idea still in mind, if you are to merge two rocks together, does it become one? Or is it still two? Theoretically, if it were possible to merge all forms of rock on the planet into one solid mass, is it many rocks still? Or one?

I could go round and round on this premise, but I'm sure you get the picture.

My Conclusion(s): Everything, all matter, is infinitely divisible. Discuss.

It remains a rock, so long as it remains to matter. Beyond that, what ought to matter remains to be seen.

But is it now two "rocks"? Or still the same, single rock that it was before?

Maybe this question is too simplistic in itself. Matter is...well, that's our question, isn't it? Matter is, as far as we would be able to know, infinite across the universe.

Of course, I am neither a scientist nor a physicist especially. I am a common man with this philosophical question of mine.

Anything that matters that is divided, must take it's own course. Anything that dose not matter remains on course, within the field that remains unseen.

[Scott]

The question in the original post seems like a false dichotomy to me. If you break a big rock into two it may indeed turn into two smaller sized rocks. Another alternative could be that it turns into two pebbles, or one pebble and one rock. It seems clear to me a broken rock is neither infinitely divisible nor still one rock.

Also, if you break an object down to the molecular level it often will no longer even be the same substance. For instance, if you divide a molecule of water/presumably (H²O), you no longer have any water at all but rather have oxygen or hydrogen.

I'm not sure the conclusion--"Everything, all matter, is infinitely divisible"--follows from the premises. In fact, as best as I can recall, quantum science seems to indicate that there is a 'smallest unit' of stuff whether that be a quirk/lepton or a vibrating string or whatever. As a matter of terminology, once you divide matter to the subatomic point, I do not think it is any longer considered matter; and at least at some point waves and particles can no longer be distinguished but are rather something more like a so-called wavicle. Finally, I think it is important to remember that matter can be essentially 'destroyed' by being converted into energy, although ironically this is more common in fusion than division, I think.

Well, excuse my lack of understanding. As I said before, I am no scientist, but the question did cross my mind.

I suppose I could ask you for a reliable source which best teaches the basics of quantum physics/mechanics, as I am new to all of this (if you couldn't tell). But then I think that question is better off in another category.

Thank you for answers!

[Scott]

If you are interested, I found these relatively recent books in the field:

Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel by Michio Kaku - 2008
The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow - 2010
The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics: A Math-Free Exploration of the Science That Made Our World by James Kakalios - 2011

Also, I really enjoyed this DVD as a crash course in the results of current theoretical physics:

Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking

Thanks!
Scott

'A rock' is a rock only because a community of people says it is and confer the word and the concept upon some arbitrary collection of properties. Generic rock is generic rock only because of communal consensus. The properties of rock are what they are because of the economic necessity of dealing with rock in our human environment. Imagine this: a community of people on some planet which contains no what we call rock or rocks --this hard stuff. These people have no words for rock or rocks and manage to survive without it therefore have no need for words or concept of rock or rocks.

A rock becomes a wee stone when people say that about it.

Why can't it be both?
I like to think that infinity does not describe an infinate mass that exists, but the continual pattern of regurgitation of a finite mass. Maybe the universe goes around in cycles, first starting as that rock (or a point of extreme density) and then becomes broken up into its smaller components, just to get slowly sucked back into that point of extreme density. That rock, that is now two rocks, actually began as a part of a much larger rock, and in my opinion at no point along the journey did it cease to be rock, regardless of size.
Maybe in the face of the universe we are all just particles of sand, forming shapes and then being dragged back into the water to make room for new ones.
The universe is at one point a black hole of complete density and then becomes as we know it know, filled with space and planets and stars. No matter what form its mass takes on it is still the universe.

Not too sure if that is what you were getting at, but it's what popped into my head whilst reading your post.

Thanks, Taijitu.

Stone is not a stone in a first place. It is separate Universe made up of waves of energy. By braking it, we create more Universes of a smaller size. Towards Universes which are not too big in comparison to human we act like Gods, we reshape them , destroy them, play around, etc.
If fractal geometry is true explanation of the world, then there ought to be creatures a lot larger than us, but made up in the same way, or perhaps more complicated, made up of gazillions of Universes. We then, in comparison, are just microbes inside their bodies.

This very interesting question got off to a difficult start by being placed in the Philosophy of Science section. It would do better in the Metaphysics and Epistemology section.