> I thought the point of inverse square laws was that we have a point source, area increases with r^2, energy is radiated symmetrically in space, and thus energ

> I thought the point of inverse square laws was that we have a point source, area increases with r^2, energy is radiated symmetrically in space, and thus energy at any given point has to drop off with 1/r^2 in order for total energy to remain constant. This explains an inverse square law for intensity of radiation, but why would you expect it to apply to forces in general?