Why NOT to use the Fundamental Interactions for an elemental system
So, I've been trying to come with a more "Modern Science"-y element system for a dieselpunk fantasy setting I've been working on, and I tried to come with something based on the four fundamental interactions. This was a mistake, for SO many reasons.
1. Two of the four do nothing interesting at a macroscopic scale (the Strong and Weak nuclear interactions). The most I could possibly get out of them is Making Nuclear Fireballs and Making Radiation. This is especially bad because of:
2. Electromagnetism does EVERYTHING. Seriously. Lighting? Electromagnetism. Fire? Also caused by electromagnetism. Objects not passing through each other? More electromagnetism. Chemistry? Take a wild guess.
3. They're not comprehensive. Apparently the thing that defines a fundamental force in physics is the "force" part (something about carrier particles?) rather than the "fundamental" part. So neither entropy nor the Higgs Field (AKA: why we have mass) are covered. Which necessitates more elements.
4. Wikipedia does a really really bad job of relating macroscopic phenomena like fire back to fundamental forces.
