I suspect we are not going to get any further with this as we seem to have hit one of those situations that bedevil Earth Science threads.

I would, however, like to try to work through some thoughts that are going round in my head, and perhaps get them into some sort of order, just to see if they make sense.


F = ma. (So far, so good)

I have a 10kg block of something rigid that I want to move by pushing it.

I (try to) apply a force to it, but the force is insufficient to move the block. (I’m having a feeble day)

F = 10kg x 0 = 0 (No force in spite of my feeble efforts!)

The force I thought I was applying = 5N

Therefore 5N = 10kg x 0 = 0

Therefore 5N = 0.

Have I missed something here, or does this not make very good sense?

There never was nothing.