- #36
Ethan Skyler
- 7
- 0
Centripetal/Centrifugal action/reaction forces
Hello Professor Petrus:
You are a brave man indeed to venture so far beyond the charted waters of Physics. I find your answers imaginative. I wonder though if you have spent enough time analyzing the problems that give rise to your answers.
First the good news: I like your definition of centripetal and centrifugal forces in that you make it very clear that these terms refer only to the direction of the force under study. Thus the reader should understand that a centripetal force is one that is directed generally toward the center or axis of the curved path of travel. Conversely a centrifugal force is one that is directed generally away from the center or axis. Since both centripetal and centrifugal, (center seeking and center fleeing) imply movement toward or movement away, it is easy to see how these Latin terms are poorly suited for describing the action/reaction forces present in an event where an object is orbiting an axis while maintaining a constant radius from that axis. To eliminate the confusions caused by these Latin terms, I prefer to use "inward-directed" and "outward-directed" which hopefully stimulates the visualization in the readers mind of the direction of the force vector and nothing more. Good show on your part.
Now for the not-so-good news: I find that every complex theory in Physics has a simple beginning. It appears to me, without the benefit of reading your books on the matter, that you attempt to answer the question: "When the inward-directed force is gravitation, what is the outward-directed force?" For sure this is a tough and vexing question to answer. I am wondering if your answer is correct. If you have answered incorrectly, then all your work that is based upon this incorrect answer is itself incorrect. Physics is heartless in this regard. The history of Physics is filled with complex explanations of incorrectly answered problems of a simple nature.
You list possible inward-directed or centripetal forces as being caused by "Gravity, Electricity, Magnetism, Nuclear and Cohesion." You name these acceleration-causing action forces as: "Gravipetal, Electropetal, Magnetopetal, Nucleopetal and Cohesipetal." You then name the outward-directed or centrifugal forces as being a match for each as: "Gravifugal, Electrofugal, Magnetofugal, Nucleofugal, and Cohesifugal." Here I see you have made the assumption that when acceleration is caused for an object by an action force of some type, the object's reaction force to that acceleration always takes on the same type of characteristics as possessed by the action force. Are you sure this is correct?
In other words, if the inward-directed acceleration/Action force is a mechanical external contact force applied by a rope glued to the orbiting object's surface (Cohesipetal) then you predict that the outward-directed acceleration/Reaction force present within the object being whirled around your person is a Cohesifugal force. Is that generally correct? Here I wonder if you have it right since the inward-directed acceleration-causing action force is an external contact force while the outward-directed reaction-to-acceleration force is an internal force being reactively generated within each component of the orbiting body's matter. This myriad of individual acceleration/Reaction forces stack up to reach a maximum force at the mutual contact point between the rope and the whirling object. Remove one atom from the object and its own individual internal reaction force will go missing resulting in a reduction in the a/A force required to maintain a given rate of acceleration along with an equal reduction in the whirling object's cumulative total a/R force. Since this action/reaction pair of forces are of different types, one external, one internal, I do not think it is correct to term them as being of the same type, "Cohesipetal and Cohesifugal". Also here I think it is important to point out that the activity of acceleration is inward-directed and being caused by the external acceleration/action force. This a/A force also represents the cause of the object's internal acceleration/Reaction force which provides Newton LAW III support while itself being incapable of causing any event. It just goes along for the ride.
Now let us have a look at your Gravipetal and Gravifugal forces. I agree that gravity often does act as an acceleration/Action force. But I wonder if the reaction-to-acceleration force from the gravitationally accelerating object is any different from the internal acceleration/Reaction force present within the former whirling object event? In other words I wonder if the Cohesifugal reaction force is the same Gravifugal reaction force is the same as the Electrofugal reaction force, etc. More importantly for your conclusions, I wonder if there is any evidence suggesting that any of these outward-directed forces can ever act as the cause of any event. I wonder this for it is my understanding that all such outward-directed forces are internal reaction forces that are reactively caused by inward-directed action forces and as such are incapable of acting to cause any outward-directed event.
Ride in a car as a passenger. When the driver presses on the accelerator, the seat back impresses an external (contact) acceleration/Action force against your torso. Your body's component's of matter each reactively generate internal acceleration/Reaction forces whose cumulative total reactively bears back against the seat. (Do this in a really fast car and you can feel the acceleration/Reaction weight of your eyeball bearing horizontally back into their sockets.) Insert a compression scale between your torso and the seat to measure the action/reaction pair of forces impressed on their respective sides of the scale. Remove one atom from your body and the scale reading will decrease proportionally. Notice that your torso's rearward-directed reaction force does nothing to decrease or cancel your body's forward-directed acceleration. It just reactively goes along for the ride.
Climb the tallest tower near Earth's equator and drop a bowling ball. (For safety reasons, don't actually try this event.) Internal "Gravipetal" acceleration/Action forces directed toward Earth's axis are the cause of the ball's observed acceleration toward that same axis. (In Galileo's day much was made of predicting where the ball would land, at the tower's base, east of the base or west of the base.) I think we both agree that a gravitational internal acceleration/Reaction force is being actively generated within each component of the ball's matter and acting as the cause of the ball's Earthward acceleration. I also think we agree that an internal force of some type is also present within each same component of the accelerating ball's matter. While you may not view this outward-directed force as a reaction force as do I, you must admit that its presence, like the presence of your torso's acceleration/Reaction force does nothing to decrease or cancel the ball's acceleration. It just goes along for the ride providing the Newton LAW III required support.
Now you may object to the vertical path of the falling ball and contend that centripetal and centrifugal forces are not involved. Remember though, these Latin terms refer to the direction of the action and reaction forces present which clearly describes the forces present during the falling ball event. The only difference is that I have not given the ball any sort of sideways velocity prior to it being released. Newton presented just such an example where he mentally fired the ball from a horizontally-directed cannon placed on an impossibly tall mountain top. First with a small charge then with larger and larger charges until the ball was granted sufficient velocity so as to encircle or orbit the globe. The point is that regardless of the sideways velocity of the ball upon release, the gravitational force remains the acceleration/Action force that causes the ball's acceleration that is directed toward Earth's center of mass, with this force acting as the cause its own support in the form of the ball's internal acceleration/Reaction force. Again as in all cases I can think of, this acceleration/Reaction force is never the cause of any event. It just goes along for the ride.
I think the truth in nature is that within the matter of any object experiencing acceleration, both linear and centripetal, there is present the same internal acceleration/Reaction force whether this acceleration is being forcefully caused by an external (contact) action force (rope, auto seat) or an internal action force such as gravitation, magnetism, etc. I think this often neglected reaction force should go by the descriptive name "acceleration/Reaction force" in all cases involving acceleration. It is important to recognize that at times its existence may be determined by scale when the a/A force is an external contact force. Finally, as a reaction or reflection force, its cause lies elsewhere and so I see this as the reason an object's a/R force is incapable of acting as the cause of any event. Again, it just reactively goes along for the ride.
Thanks for prompting this discussion. A lot of intelligent minds have blazed the trail before us, that is for certain.
Ethan Skyler
Hello Professor Petrus:
You are a brave man indeed to venture so far beyond the charted waters of Physics. I find your answers imaginative. I wonder though if you have spent enough time analyzing the problems that give rise to your answers.
First the good news: I like your definition of centripetal and centrifugal forces in that you make it very clear that these terms refer only to the direction of the force under study. Thus the reader should understand that a centripetal force is one that is directed generally toward the center or axis of the curved path of travel. Conversely a centrifugal force is one that is directed generally away from the center or axis. Since both centripetal and centrifugal, (center seeking and center fleeing) imply movement toward or movement away, it is easy to see how these Latin terms are poorly suited for describing the action/reaction forces present in an event where an object is orbiting an axis while maintaining a constant radius from that axis. To eliminate the confusions caused by these Latin terms, I prefer to use "inward-directed" and "outward-directed" which hopefully stimulates the visualization in the readers mind of the direction of the force vector and nothing more. Good show on your part.
Now for the not-so-good news: I find that every complex theory in Physics has a simple beginning. It appears to me, without the benefit of reading your books on the matter, that you attempt to answer the question: "When the inward-directed force is gravitation, what is the outward-directed force?" For sure this is a tough and vexing question to answer. I am wondering if your answer is correct. If you have answered incorrectly, then all your work that is based upon this incorrect answer is itself incorrect. Physics is heartless in this regard. The history of Physics is filled with complex explanations of incorrectly answered problems of a simple nature.
You list possible inward-directed or centripetal forces as being caused by "Gravity, Electricity, Magnetism, Nuclear and Cohesion." You name these acceleration-causing action forces as: "Gravipetal, Electropetal, Magnetopetal, Nucleopetal and Cohesipetal." You then name the outward-directed or centrifugal forces as being a match for each as: "Gravifugal, Electrofugal, Magnetofugal, Nucleofugal, and Cohesifugal." Here I see you have made the assumption that when acceleration is caused for an object by an action force of some type, the object's reaction force to that acceleration always takes on the same type of characteristics as possessed by the action force. Are you sure this is correct?
In other words, if the inward-directed acceleration/Action force is a mechanical external contact force applied by a rope glued to the orbiting object's surface (Cohesipetal) then you predict that the outward-directed acceleration/Reaction force present within the object being whirled around your person is a Cohesifugal force. Is that generally correct? Here I wonder if you have it right since the inward-directed acceleration-causing action force is an external contact force while the outward-directed reaction-to-acceleration force is an internal force being reactively generated within each component of the orbiting body's matter. This myriad of individual acceleration/Reaction forces stack up to reach a maximum force at the mutual contact point between the rope and the whirling object. Remove one atom from the object and its own individual internal reaction force will go missing resulting in a reduction in the a/A force required to maintain a given rate of acceleration along with an equal reduction in the whirling object's cumulative total a/R force. Since this action/reaction pair of forces are of different types, one external, one internal, I do not think it is correct to term them as being of the same type, "Cohesipetal and Cohesifugal". Also here I think it is important to point out that the activity of acceleration is inward-directed and being caused by the external acceleration/action force. This a/A force also represents the cause of the object's internal acceleration/Reaction force which provides Newton LAW III support while itself being incapable of causing any event. It just goes along for the ride.
Now let us have a look at your Gravipetal and Gravifugal forces. I agree that gravity often does act as an acceleration/Action force. But I wonder if the reaction-to-acceleration force from the gravitationally accelerating object is any different from the internal acceleration/Reaction force present within the former whirling object event? In other words I wonder if the Cohesifugal reaction force is the same Gravifugal reaction force is the same as the Electrofugal reaction force, etc. More importantly for your conclusions, I wonder if there is any evidence suggesting that any of these outward-directed forces can ever act as the cause of any event. I wonder this for it is my understanding that all such outward-directed forces are internal reaction forces that are reactively caused by inward-directed action forces and as such are incapable of acting to cause any outward-directed event.
Ride in a car as a passenger. When the driver presses on the accelerator, the seat back impresses an external (contact) acceleration/Action force against your torso. Your body's component's of matter each reactively generate internal acceleration/Reaction forces whose cumulative total reactively bears back against the seat. (Do this in a really fast car and you can feel the acceleration/Reaction weight of your eyeball bearing horizontally back into their sockets.) Insert a compression scale between your torso and the seat to measure the action/reaction pair of forces impressed on their respective sides of the scale. Remove one atom from your body and the scale reading will decrease proportionally. Notice that your torso's rearward-directed reaction force does nothing to decrease or cancel your body's forward-directed acceleration. It just reactively goes along for the ride.
Climb the tallest tower near Earth's equator and drop a bowling ball. (For safety reasons, don't actually try this event.) Internal "Gravipetal" acceleration/Action forces directed toward Earth's axis are the cause of the ball's observed acceleration toward that same axis. (In Galileo's day much was made of predicting where the ball would land, at the tower's base, east of the base or west of the base.) I think we both agree that a gravitational internal acceleration/Reaction force is being actively generated within each component of the ball's matter and acting as the cause of the ball's Earthward acceleration. I also think we agree that an internal force of some type is also present within each same component of the accelerating ball's matter. While you may not view this outward-directed force as a reaction force as do I, you must admit that its presence, like the presence of your torso's acceleration/Reaction force does nothing to decrease or cancel the ball's acceleration. It just goes along for the ride providing the Newton LAW III required support.
Now you may object to the vertical path of the falling ball and contend that centripetal and centrifugal forces are not involved. Remember though, these Latin terms refer to the direction of the action and reaction forces present which clearly describes the forces present during the falling ball event. The only difference is that I have not given the ball any sort of sideways velocity prior to it being released. Newton presented just such an example where he mentally fired the ball from a horizontally-directed cannon placed on an impossibly tall mountain top. First with a small charge then with larger and larger charges until the ball was granted sufficient velocity so as to encircle or orbit the globe. The point is that regardless of the sideways velocity of the ball upon release, the gravitational force remains the acceleration/Action force that causes the ball's acceleration that is directed toward Earth's center of mass, with this force acting as the cause its own support in the form of the ball's internal acceleration/Reaction force. Again as in all cases I can think of, this acceleration/Reaction force is never the cause of any event. It just goes along for the ride.
I think the truth in nature is that within the matter of any object experiencing acceleration, both linear and centripetal, there is present the same internal acceleration/Reaction force whether this acceleration is being forcefully caused by an external (contact) action force (rope, auto seat) or an internal action force such as gravitation, magnetism, etc. I think this often neglected reaction force should go by the descriptive name "acceleration/Reaction force" in all cases involving acceleration. It is important to recognize that at times its existence may be determined by scale when the a/A force is an external contact force. Finally, as a reaction or reflection force, its cause lies elsewhere and so I see this as the reason an object's a/R force is incapable of acting as the cause of any event. Again, it just reactively goes along for the ride.
Thanks for prompting this discussion. A lot of intelligent minds have blazed the trail before us, that is for certain.
Ethan Skyler