Week 4 - Comparing the four forces

The Weak Force

Understanding the four forces was a challenge and I am not sure I really get it. I understand that the weak force is responsible for beta decay but how can it's messenger particles (W and Z bosons) be massive and sluggish if the messenger particles of the four forces are massless?

The Strong Force

The strong force makes sense to me because the inside of an atom makes sense to me (i think). It makes sense that this should be the strongest force. If it were not then all things in our universe would be much less stable.

Electromagnetic Force

This force is the one I played with as a kid when I slid magnets around on the floor, repelling and attracting them to each other. This one we can see and we can also see it's messenger particle (if it is a particle) the photon.

Gravity

Maybe gravity isn't a force, maybe what we think is gravity is electromagnetism or strong force and we are living inside an atom. This one stumps me. I don't know why we have not found gravitons and realizing how weak gravitational force is, makes me a little nervous. I think all these forces are attempts to try to explain how it is possible that we are on this perfect planet and everything has come into balance so precisely that we are able to exist here and now. My hope is that people start to appreciate earth more for what it is instead of trying to abuse, avoid, rape, kill and explain it away.