Is it possible to shrink something without removing anything ?

[NuklearWinter]

Help me settle a debate here at work. Can you think of anything that you can shrink, and in doing so, not remove anything (including air, molecules, etc.)?

The only example I came up with is this:
some scientists believe the universe is expanding, and eventually it will condense. When it does compact, nothing can be removed, but yet the universe will shrink. My co-worker doesn't accept this because it cannot be proven that the universe will shrink.

[yukoncpa]

[ QUOTE ]
Help me settle a debate here at work. Can you think of anything that you can shrink, and in doing so, not remove anything (including air, molecules, etc.)?

The only example I came up with is this:
some scientists believe the universe is expanding, and eventually it will condense. When it does compact, nothing can be removed, but yet the universe will shrink. My co-worker doesn't accept this because it cannot be proven that the universe will shrink.



[/ QUOTE ] Does a star that shrinks into a black hole work here? I think black holes give off some sort of radiation, but don't they suck in more then they release? I'm only making a guess.

[NuklearWinter]

That works too, although my coworker is stubborn and claims we don't know enough about the universe to know what happens with black holes :P

I think I give up.

[Phil153]

Neutron stars work too. Also, nuclear weapons. Most work through implosion which is basically a ring of finely tuned explosives that send a powerful shock wave into the plutonium or simlar, compressing the already dense material several times so that the chain reaction lasts long enough before the plutonium rips itself apart. See below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear...plosion_method

[inlemur]

If you're just talking about a reduction in volume, pretty much everything shrinks when it is cooled or when the pressure on it is increased.

[NuklearWinter]

Fantastic examples, thanks guys!

[kevin017]

compressed c02. you put lots of c02 into a tiny container and you just keep putting more and more and more in, and nothing comes out.

[Metric]

Inflate a balloon at 10,000 feet elevation. Then carry it back down with you to sea level.

[oe39]

children?

[gull]

There's no need to resort to black holes, in my mind.

Melting ice makes it denser. No mass is lost.

Chemical reactions shrink stuff too. A simple combustion reaction such as 2 H2 + 02 = 2 H20 is a reaction where the product shrinks.