THE CASE OF HIDDEN FORCES - ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATION OF KNOWN FACTS
Author: Nicolae Mazilu
Published on Wednesday, January 9th, 2008 in category ProtoQuant
ABSTRACT: The main geometrical quality of a force is its vector character, showing that the force acts and its action is always directed along a straight line in Space. When it happens that this straight line is incident to two points whose (relative) motion can be explained by the presence of the force vector, then we can infer the existence of that force, whether there is a material agent to make a constraint out of it or not. The vector model for the forces acting at a distance can allow qualities beyond those of constraints for the concept of force. Specifically the action along a straight line joining two points may not be mandatory. However, the Classical Mechanics usually works with forces between bodies having convenient constraint qualities (see The Case of Banished Forces, this web page), thus apparently excluding the action of forces out of the line joining the bodies. If such actions exist, and they can be explained within the framework of the vector model of force, then they are inherently hidden by the very fact that we don’t look after them. This essay is about what hidden forces can reveal within Classical Mechanics.