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Re: Causation in Physics: F=ma



Tipler (et. al.) --- "A force is an external influence on an object that
causes it to accelerate..."

Halliday (et.al.) --- "A force causes the acceleration of a body."

Hewitt --- "...Newton gave a more precise idea of force by relating it
to the acceleration it produces. He says in effect that force is
anything than can accelerate an object."

I just looked at nine of the books on my shelf. I have more, but I got
tired of looking. I think all nine I looked at say that force causes
acceleration. Some explicitly say so, and others imply it.

Please note that I am not disagreeing with John Denker's cause-effect
treatise. Rather, I am just agreeing with Ludwik that our current
textbooks clearly state that force causes acceleration.


Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemistry and Physics
Bluffton College
Bluffton, OH 45817
(419)-358-3270
edmiston@bluffton.edu