Brian, you are absolutely right that gravity is, at the submicroscopic level, a particularly weak force. And I was wrong in comparing it favorably in terms of strength with magnetism, or electromagnetism, which is much stronger at those levels. I did realize, after posting, that I had made at least a technical error, and hoped I wouldn't be called on it. Of the regular posters here, it was you who I figured would be most likely to catch it and correct it.

But, in your post above, you do clarify that, at the mAcroscopic level, gravity is, indeed, the force to be reckoned with. And it is that level which we are concerned with. I regularly drop things constructed of all kinds of materials, and have noted that they accelerate rapidly in a downward direction. I attribute this to gravity. On the other hand, even during the strongest solar flare events, I have never noticed objects made of ferrous materials to make even the slightest motion due to anything other than obvious, non-magnetic forces acting upon them.

Thanks for your clarification. As to whether you confused a few people, I've previously been admonished "If you're not confused by now, you haven't been paying attention!"

Michael Williams
Arroyo Grande, CA USA