Summary and Main Ideas

Summary

• The various types of forces that are categorized for use in many applications are all manifestations of the four basic forces in nature.
• The properties of these forces are summarized in the previous lesson.
• Everything we experience directly without sensitive instruments is due to either electromagnetic forces or gravitational forces. The nuclear forces are responsible for the submicroscopic structure of matter, but they are not directly sensed because of their short ranges. Attempts are being made to show all four forces are different manifestations of a single unified force.
• A force field surrounds an object creating a force and is the carrier of that force.

Glossary

carrier particle

a fundamental particle of nature that is surrounded by a characteristic force field; photons are carrier particles of the electromagnetic force

force field

a region in which a test particle will experience a force