Hi leo3d,
The Particle SOP is the predecessor of POPs. It can still be used to create particles but you do not have as much control & as many features as POPs.
With regards to your questions about forces, please download the legacy tutorials from
here [
sidefx.com]. There are also other legacy tutorials available from the Learn section of the
SESI Community [
sidefx.com].
Cheers!
steven