The Elusive Force

It is perhaps strange much of physics is built upon asking "What is?" instead of asking "Why is?". Physicists contend themselves with describing the phenomena around them with mathematical equations, drawing out insights, manipulating those wierd spiky symbols and finally making use of those insights. But of course, all those manipulations rests upon assumptions of fictitious objects, theoretical constructs, and objects that never be seen with our own eyes, at least not directly.

I can sympathise with people that have difficulty learning physics because of some of the absurd propositions. Take for example, the concept of Force. Force is defined as a push or pull. This is of course familiar to us when a big bad bully pushes us around or pulling our hair. Yet, extending this concept to the gravitional force, electromagnetic force, we find this concept a bit alien. In fact, this smacks full of the Jedi knights' The Force; or Neo's miraculous ability to stop bullets mid-air. This action-at-a-distance thing, is mind-boggling to some people. Some people find it even creepy that an object can apparently move objects without visible cause.

It is therefore easier to describe the effects than to probe the causes. You can observe that a certain force makes a certain mass to accelerate. Though you cant actually see the force itself, it does not actually prevent you from describing the effects. F = ma is the equation that describes the effects.

You observe that a certain object affects the motion of other objects around it. It pushes some objects away, and it pulls at others. With some thought, you characterise these objects into 2 groups, and calls them charged particles. You come up with the concept of a field, where it is defined as the region around which another particle experiences a force. Though you cannot actually see the field, it does not prevent you from using it to describe the effects.

It is therefore gratifying to some scientists, when Einstein found a way to give substance to the gravitational field. He said that the field was just merely a distortion in the fabric of spacetime. Of course we can not see this, we can only theorise about it. As long as the theory is useful to us, we can keep this model as a heuristic one. Care must therefore be taken, not to lapse into the complacency and take a model as absolute truth. We must continue to question whether the concept of force is THE correct model, and not simply, a strong empirical one.

Truth is not for us to give or even distribute around freely, but for us to discover.