I think you'd be able to get it in a little ways before top of the box pushes against its own lid, preventing it from going in any further. If the lid pops back open, then the top of the box will begin sticking out of the box which will likely make it too wide to fit all the way through the wall portal.
But the rules of Portal is that the portals themselves break when moved by any substantial extent anyways so in the game it would just disable the portal altogether.
98But the rules of Portal is that the portals themselves break when moved by any substantial extent anyways
32It's the scene with the lasers innit? So many "paradoxes" are solved with the answer of "portals cannot move relative to one another," and then they do the bit with the laser. -_-
32The thing is, movement is relative. Everything on earth is constantly in motion if you're observing from any other celestial body, so motion itself can't be what breaks portals. What it might be, though, is acceleration. Those panels in the video seem to be moving at a constant speed, so aren't experiencing any substantial acceleration, making a portal on them possible
9They can move at a constant speed in a constant direction, but the acceleration would break them.
2
Heres an answer from minutephysics
56I guess the question becomes if one portal is in a box, what happens to the box? Does the whole process just get blocked after the first few inches as the outside of the box collides with the inside; does it push itself open; do the portals just slice though and turn the pieces of box in the way into confetti?
5Just came here to check whether someone already posted the minutephysics video.
I think their explanation is rather good for passing portals through themselves. The box doesn't add much to the equation: it is just physical objects smashed into eachother...
2
I love that video.
1
Can't move portals.
36Of course you can. They're on moon rock. There are a few puzzles with moving platforms with portals.
12Theoretically you can if they're moving in a constant direction at a constant speed a la an inertial frame.
7That doesn't work because gravity makes the game's reference frame non-inertial. One of the big takeaways of general relativity is that idea a reference frame that's inertial except for gravity is meaningless. Even ignoring relativity, everything is subjected to centripetal acceleration due to the Earth's rotation (and the story canonically takes place on Earth).
I think the real answer is probably the least satisfying: the game's physics just don't correspond to real physics. Most portals appear to exist in a privileged reference frame that can be said to be motionless, but even that isn't the real rule; the real rule is that portals can exist where the level designers want to allow them to exist. They try to make it feel like there's a certain logic behind it, but they'll bend the rules as necessary to make a cool puzzle work, and they keep the everything consistent within a single puzzle, but some subtleties of how portals appear to work are subject to change between puzzles.
3
Except that one time in Portal 2.
When you cut the tubes to the big gas chambery thing.
3
Box moves 1 inch and the portal poofs due to an unstable surface.
19This always bothers me when people argue what would happen if you pushed Portal portals into each other. You can't. The moment the surface moves, it's unstable and the portal pops. They're quite specific about this in the games.
-2Portal surfaces can move. By nature everything is moving, we just happen to be in the same frame of reference.
Regardless, here is a video of a portal on a moving surface from portal 2. https://youtu.be/OrAHvenjZpA?si=VY5dRvUP8_LPgOPO (around the 1 minute mark)
Additionally shooting a portal on the moon also demonstrates that movement is allowed (since the moon is in a non synchronous orbit)
1
So how do you find a box that can fit a blue portal inside, but also itself fits through the orange portal; given that both portals are equal in size?
14Turn it
35Duh, that makes sense
10
Pivot
6Move it really fast and let relativity do the rest
3That's only in direction of motion. The height still won't fit. Of course, all hell breaks loose if they touch even if they don't pass all the way through.
1
Is their anything that can escape the "self referential" paradox?
13Gödel and Russell would be very pleased. Or maybe dismayed. I'm not sure how they felt about their discoveries.
4
It would repel or bounce the box as each portal acts as opposite like magnets.
11it just turns the cosmos inside out like a sock . Don't do it.
9I just assume as soon as one touches the other they fizzle out. I guess the top of the box gets cut a bit.
It's like folding space. They basically occupy the same location. Its just two "sides" of a 2D plane. The portal can't go into itself.
Worst case if it can it's like bottle so they just flip positions and the whole thing reverses and the box just comes right out and the colors swap.
Nothing crazy.
8It will hit the lid
6The result is a box with a portal in it, in a box with an portal in it, in a box with an portal in it, in a box with an portal in it........∞
3Portals can only move within planes parallel to each other.
3Explosion :P
2Should have used circles, like a manhole cover
2You cant move surfaces with Portals on them
2Portals cannot be moved. Try putting a portal on a moving surface in the game, it disappears.
2/c/sciencefictionmemes?
1I think the box will pass thru
1Isn't that how Stargates work?
1The real question is what would happen if you tossed a normal size gate into an Ori supergate that were connected.
We know they CAN connect, since that's how they block the supergate from this side. And they never established whether a connected gate can move through space without losing a connection, just that you have to know where you are in space to dial out, and two gates can't activate when close together.
3Didn't they establish that a ship has to stop to connect? Wasn't that a thing with Universe and the gate being ON the ship? So a gate can't be actively moving while connected, I think. My memory is a bit fuzzy. And I feel like there's still one time an exception is made, but it involves some one time use trickery.
1
THIS is what happens when you succeed in making an AI ( or Hoomin ) that can create MODERN KOANS.
You Bastard!!
: P
_ /\ _
0Both portals should the same size. Fitting one in a box, means the box should be too big to fit in the other portal.
0They're ellipses. You put one on its side and it fits through.
13It isn't shown explicitly, but notice in the last panel with the box, the box is much wider and much shorter. It was rotated 90°.
4
Watch Rick and Morty season 5 episode 9
-2No thanks.
11Oh, okay. It has a scene where you have a portal go into a portal.
4
