Work Versus Force: Simultaneous Processes for Describing Interactions

Abstract

Achieving a unified description of interactions remains an open challenge in theoretical physics, which currently describes four fundamental forces. This situation may be viewed differently when interactions are formulated in terms of processes (work as actio) rather than forces (force as actio), not only at the macroscopic level but also at the quantum level. This paper contrasts force-based and work-based approaches to interaction and we argue that acting forces serve as a geometric surrogate rather than as an explicit representation of the underlying simultaneous processes. Simple examples – such as lifting, acceleration, and displacement of a body, as well as processes involving quantum objects – are used to illustrate the applicability of process equations, including that form of work describing a change in the momentum of a body or particle. The results suggest that a work-based approach to interactions is a serious alternative to the force-based one and could pave the way toward a deterministic formulation of quantum theory.