Is it possible to ’cease to exist’?

[shotgun]

Question: Is it possible for anything to 'cease to exist'?



I saw the following definition of the word 'Existance'

ex·is·tence /span>P</span>)</span>Pronunciation Key(g-zstns)


n.

1. The fact or state of existing; being.
2. The fact or state of continued being; life: <cite>our brief existence on Earth.</cite>
3. 1. <li ="a">All that exists: <cite>sang the beauty of all existence.</cite> <li ="a">A thing that exists; an entity.
4. A mode or manner of existing: <cite>scratched out a meager existence.</cite>
5. Specific presence; occurrence: <cite>The Geiger counter indicated the existence of radioactivity.</cite>

<blockquote>Synonyms: existence, actuality, being

These nouns denote the fact or state of existing: <cite>laws in existence for centuries; an idea progressing from possibility to actuality; a point of view gradually coming into being.</cite>

Antonyms: nonexistence

</blockquote>
But when i saw the Antonym "nonexistance" at the end of the definition,
i began to think about the true meaning of the concept of not
existing...



Consider the fact that everything that has EVER existed, whether it be
a grain of sand or a star we can barely see through a telescope, have
all had some kind of impact on this reality as we know it... A
microscopic piece of dirt thousands of feet below the earth may not
have ever been seen by any living organism, but it's supporting the
piece of dirt directly above it, which is also supporting the dirt
above it, until thousands of tons of dirt later we find the grass we
walk on... Even though that piece of dirt has never been witnessed, it
still exists and the grass we walk on is proof of that. But is it
possible for that dirt (or anything else) to ever stop existing?

Now if that dirt happens to drop into the earths core and get melted by
magma, it would cease to be dirt... but does it still 'exist', just in
a different form?



Another example would be the old proverb "If a tree falls down in the woods and no one is around to hear it- does it make a sound?</font>". This one has likely been discussed way too many times to remain interesting, but im sure you can see my point.



My great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great (etc),
grandfather has obviously been dead for many many years and his body
has probably decayed completely by now. If his body is gone, everything
he owned or touched is gone, no living being remembers him and there
are no records of him ever being alive... does he still exist?. Im
here, so he must have existed at some point... does that mean he still
exists, because proof of him existing is still here?





I'd love to hear your views on this...





</font>