Free Body Diagrams - Physics 101 / AP Physics 1 Review with Dianna Cowern

Gravity gets a bad rap. What does it really mean to say one fundamental force is stronger than another? Strength depends on material properties, field properties and proximity. That little magnet has to be very close to the paper clip in order to overcome Earth's gravity at a given altitude. A bigger one can muster the same force from farther away. A smaller one might not be up for the job. You can't really compare apples to apples unless you get down to fundamental particles. Then you can eliminate material properties (e.g. size, mass, charge, spin, charm) as variables and focus on field properties and geometry. i.e. How do the forces compare for a given type of particle at a given distance? The comparison is always incomplete because our field equations break down at sufficiently close proximity.