[Martin Ellis]

Simple question and a current argument between myself and a friend.

I say a curved path of an object be it parrabola trajectory or spinning object around central point consists of several forces that sum to make a resultant path which may be circular, orbital or paraobolic trajectory.

My friend states that we can have a quantifiable force which is curved...

That is to say that it has a change of direction which is not a straight line.. independent of time and rate of change.

Does anyone know if a curved force is possible?

[worthbeads]

independant of time and rate of change.

How would that be possible? Wouldn't it have to obey the laws of the universe. I would have to agree with you. But, to be frank, I have no idea what I'm talking about.

[Capuchin]

Vector fields are similar to what you are talking about, they have a certain force at every point in a 3d space, this can make an object move in a curved path easily.

But we don't think about them as a curved force along the path, because it's easier to think in straight lines
And easier to quantify straight lines.

There is no need to think in curved forces if you can split a curve into its linear and derivative components.

Hope this made a little sense :)

[Capuchin]

You have to understand that force is a human construct in order to understand things, just like math, it may not work like that in the real working of things at all :)