Is the World Inside a Cell Infinitely Small?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the conceptual relationship between the infinite nature of the external world and the size of the internal world within a cell. Participants explore whether the space inside a cell can be considered infinitely small, drawing on physics and philosophical implications.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question whether the internal world of a cell can be considered infinitely small, suggesting that it has measurable volume.
  • Others propose that our perception limits our understanding of what exists beyond what we can see, indicating that future discoveries may reveal more complex systems.
  • A participant mentions the singularity of a black hole as a mathematical point, which is often described as "infinitely small," but acknowledges the difficulty in visualizing this concept.
  • One participant argues that having infinite space outside does not necessitate that the inside must be infinitely small, using the analogy of a room with infinite external space.
  • There is a reference to fictional concepts, such as those in "The Incredible Shrinking Man," to illustrate the idea of infinitely smaller systems, though current atomic knowledge contradicts this notion.
  • Some participants express uncertainty about whether the discussion leans more towards physics or philosophy, noting the challenges in validating such thought experiments.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on whether the internal space of a cell can be considered infinitely small, with no consensus reached. The discussion remains unresolved, with multiple competing perspectives presented.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the limitations of current understanding and the challenges in defining concepts related to size and infinity, particularly in the context of thought experiments.

mim
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This has been playing on and on in my head, If you take a single cell on say my finger and you say the world outside the cell wall is infinite. Is it also the case that the world inside the cell wall infinitely small.
mim
 
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mim said:
This has been playing on and on in my head, If you take a single cell on say my finger and you say the world outside the cell wall is infinite. Is it also the case that the world inside the cell wall infinitely small.
mim
Is this a physics question or a philosophy question?
 
physics,
 
I'm not sure about this, but my understanding is that the singularity of a black hole is considered to be a mathematical point. I've seen that defined as "infinitely small", but it's a difficult concept to envision. Maybe some of the astrophysics dudes can help out on that.
 
mim said:
This has been playing on and on in my head, If you take a single cell on say my finger and you say the world outside the cell wall is infinite. Is it also the case that the world inside the cell wall infinitely small.
mim

The space outside the room I'm in is infinite (let's assume it is for the discussion) but that doesn't mean that the room I'm sitting in is infinitely small
 
Why not. It seems to me that it may just be our perception of the world is so fixed by what we see that we don't really think about what is beyond what we can see. If the worlds strongest microscrope could be increased 1000 times or what ever, I think we would continue to see some kind of independent systems, that form parts of bigger systems. I feel that perhaps what will be discovered in the future will not be all about the bigger systems in our world. Sorry if this is beginning to sound more like a philosophical thread. I am more interested in gaining an understanding using physics if possable.
 
Why not? Why would one say it's infinitely small? It has measurable volume.
 
These types of questions can be difficult to differentiate between physics and philosophy. That is, in a certain sense, they are "thought experiments" without current potential for validation.
This creates a problem, as we all know that many significant advances in physics began with "thought experiments", whereas otheres went nowhere.
Hard call.
 
I rather suspect that Mim is thinking along the line fictionally expressed in "The Incredible Shrinking Man", wherein atoms turned out to be miniature stellar systems, which in turn were composed of smaller "atoms" that were also even more minute solar systems, ad infinitum. Current knowledge of atomic structure and subatomic particles eliminates that possibility.
(It's still a damned entertaining story, though.)
 
  • #10
Your skin cells don't have cell walls :-p

If we consider both cases where we assume outside the room or cell is infinite, while inside is either infinitely small or finite, both cases hold. Even if the room is finite you can still have infinite space outside, so making the assumption that the room inside must be infinitely small is wrong.
 
  • #11
mim said:
This has been playing on and on in my head, If you take a single cell on say my finger and you say the world outside the cell wall is infinite. Is it also the case that the world inside the cell wall infinitely small.
mim

I would call the space inside coinfinite.
 
  • #12
Mentallic said:
Your skin cells don't have cell walls :-p

Perhaps he is an Ent. You never know on the internet.
 
  • #13
Jack21222 said:
Perhaps he is an Ent. You never know on the internet.

You're thinking of the enternet.
 
  • #14
lisab said:
You're thinking of the enternet.

__________________
It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?
Henry David Thoreau

Ah! and obviously, the not infinitely minute ants are busy with the anternet.
 
  • #15
Bloody 'ell... I've fallen into a nest of lunatics. :bugeye:
 

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