Quantization, Force-types, and Scale

[lemur]

This is a physics topic but since it is more philosophical in character, I'm posting it in philosophy. It may also be viewed as speculation, though, so please feel free to move it where appropriate.

 

Consider that there are four types of force and that each type corresponds with a particular scale of events. This is logical since stronger forces do more work at smaller distances.

 

Nuclear: Strong nuclear force holds the core of the atomic nucleus together and the weak force becomes prevalent as atomic nuclei grow beyond a certain size.

 

Electrostatic/Electromagnetic: Far beyond the nucleus lies the electrons which are held to together in the atom by electrostatic force and interact according to electromagnetic force. Although you could say that the nucleons also exhibit electrostatic force and that electromagnetic radiation and magnetic fields operate at every scale, I would argue that the electrons are really the central particle for this force. You could say that the electromagnetic force is what extends the nucleus of the atom outward to its electron shielding.

 

Gravity: Far beyond the level of the electrons/atoms, gravity becomes significant as an organizing force of large numbers of atoms.

 

Quantized Forces: So arguably each force can be associated with its own scale and the scales are not continuous but relatively discreet with large amounts of scales fathomable between them that do not exist. So it is almost as if physical force itself is quantized into radically disjunct levels in the same way electrons are quantized into separate orbitals with no in-between states.

 

Is this a meaningful analogy or just aesthetic pseudo-parallelism like comparing an orange to a basketball because they're both round, orange, and have textured skin?

Edited June 4, 2011 by lemur