# Can a force that has magnitude of an irrational number be exerted? [duplicate]

Can a force, which has magnitude of an irrational number or does not end (ex : 1/3), act upon any particle?

If photon of particular wavelength lambda has some energy say E, then can the photon/group of photons exert a force which is irrational in its magnitude. If yes, then how?

If the desired force is pi(3.1415...), how can this force be attained by sum of force in a finite amount of time.

pi = 3 + 0.1 + 0.04 + 0.001 + 0.0005 + 0.00009 + ....... The above sequence does not end; And if a photon can exert a finite amount at a time, we would either require infinite amount of time or infinite amount of photons to create an infinitesimally small force.

My teacher says that the forces which are of magnitude of any irrational number are exerted on bodies. And it is just the incapability of humans that we cannot image that particular magnitude.

## marked as duplicate by David Z♦Oct 15 '16 at 8:56

• Saying that a number "doesn't end" because it's irrational doesn't make sense. A force of pi Newtons is just as reasonable as a force of 2 Newtons, for example. And photons can have any wavelength, including irrational. – Wood Oct 15 '16 at 8:09
• Possible duplicates: physics.stackexchange.com/q/52273/2451 and links therein. – Qmechanic Oct 15 '16 at 8:24

Remember that the world works in continuous ways. Not discreet ways. If you have a force at 100 N and you decrease it gradually to 0 N, you will pass over each and every value in between. And both $1/3$ as well as $\pi$ and $e$ and $\sqrt 2$ etc. are in between.