: : : : : : If this question can be answewred then maybe I can get on with my life. Actually I don't even know how to phrase the question exactally but here goes. Lets say two trains were on a path to a head on collision. What would be the minimun distance between the two trains before they collieded or came in contact with each other? Obviously there must be a point at which if either of the two trains moved any further torwards each other they would collide and come in contact with each other. BUT! at that point where if they moved any closer they would collide, there must be some empty space between the two trains because they have not collided yet. Therfore if there IS empty space between the two trains, no matter how small, you can move in closer at least half of that remaining distance... making that minimum distance moot. right? RIGHT? Okay lets look at this in mathmatically. Lets say for example you had some type of device that could electronically measure the distance between the two trains. I am going to : : : : : use the number zero (0) as the point of contact. As each train moved close torwards each other, your measuring device would count down.. 9 - 8- 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 Now using the number one (1) at the minimum distance before contact, and zero (0) as contact, how could this minimun distance exist because 0.5 would be even closer that the original minimum distance of one (1). and 0.4, 0.3, 0.2, 0.1, 0.01 so forth and so on...how could you possible reace zero (0)???????!!!!! Someone please answer this so I can stop wasting so much time pondering on this. Thanks, Randy : : : : RANDY : : : : The trains never hit. you will be always have : : : : half way to go. Except when the point in calculations you reach a point when there is all positive fractional numbers! : : : : At one point in time as numbers advance negitive numbers stop and the rest are all positive. Look at that point

(sent by europa)::::::::::As the two trains steam toward each other, a path of least distance can be obtained. This path would consist of a strait line ( considering the train track was a strait line) between the foward most atom of each train.When the orbital paths of the outer most electrons meet between the two atoms, could be logicly concidered the first point of impact.However, you could not determine the exact time this occurs due to the fact that the orbit of the valence electrons cannot be exactly known ( see "the uncertainty principle"). The minimum distance would reach zero, and there would not be any empty space between the two outermost electrons.Its just impossible to measure.