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Fundamental Forces or Placeholders? The Illusion of Understanding the Universe
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Science provides powerful tools for understanding and predicting the workings of the universe. From the motion of planets to the behavior of subatomic particles, humanity has developed models that describe these events with remarkable precision. But do these descriptions truly explain what causes them? Are we justified in saying that “gravity does it” or that “electric charges interact because of the electromagnetic force”? This article explores the gap between observation, naming, and explanation to investigate the nature of the so-called “fundamental forces” of the universe.
The Four Fundamental Forces
Modern physics describes the universe as governed by four fundamental forces:
- Gravity, which governs the attraction between masses (as described by Newton’s Law of Gravitation or warped spacetime in General Relativity).
- Electromagnetism, responsible for electric and magnetic interactions between charges.
- The Strong Nuclear Force, which holds atomic nuclei together.
- The Weak Nuclear Force, which governs certain types of particle decay.