Abstract
AbstractThere is a well-known variety of contact paradoxes which are significantly linked to topology. The aim of this paper is to present a new paradox concerning contact with bodies composed of a denumerable infinity of parts. This paradox establishes the logical necessity, in a Newtonian context, of contact forces (herein called “phantom forces”) that violate what is probably our most basic causal intuition, embodied in what I call the Principle of Influence: any force exerted on a body B induces (causes) change of movement of B or (inclusive disjunction) the emergence of internal forces in B. However, the above paradox can be made strictly compatible with a Newtonian framework by introducing phantom forces as ideal elements in the Hilbert sense, though it will be seen that this does not solve all the problems.
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
History and Philosophy of Science,Multidisciplinary
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