The Nuclear Force

The strong force keeps also the protons together in the nucleus, despite their mutual electrostatic repulsion. Click on image for full size (3K GIF) Image courtesy of Contemporary Physics Education Project

The protons in the nucleus of an atom have a positive charge. If protons come near each other, they are usually pushed apart by the electromagnetic force. (Remember, opposite charges attract, but like charges repel!).

If two or more nuclei (and the protons in those nuclei) come VERY close together, the nuclear force comes into play. The nuclear force wants the protons to come together. The nuclear force is stronger than the electromagnetic force so the nuclear force may be able to "glue" the nuclei together so fusion can happen.

The nuclear force is also known as the strong force. This is one of the fundamental forces in the Universe.

The nuclear force keeps together the most basic of elementary particles, the quarks. Quarks come together to form the protons in the atomic nucleus.

The strong force keeps also the protons together in the nucleus, despite their mutual electrostatic repulsion. Click on image for full size (3K GIF) Image courtesy of Contemporary Physics Education Project

The protons in the nucleus of an atom are positively charged. If protons interact, they are usually pushed apart by the electromagnetic force. (Remember, opposite charges attract, but like charges repel!). However, when two or more nuclei come VERY close together, the nuclear force comes into play. The nuclear force is a hundred times stronger than the electromagnetic force so the nuclear force may be able to "glue" the nuclei together so fusion can happen.

The nuclear force is also known as the strong force. This is one of the four fundamental forces in the Universe.

The nuclear force keeps together the most basic of elementary particles, the quarks. Quarks combine together to form the protons and neutrons in the atomic nucleus.

The strong force keeps also the protons together in the nucleus, despite their mutual electrostatic repulsion. Click on image for full size (3K GIF) Image courtesy of Contemporary Physics Education Project

The protons in the nucleus of an atom are positively charged. If protons interact, they are usually repelled (pushed apart) by the electromagnetic force. However, when two or more nuclei come very close together (on the order of 1 femto-meter (fm) =10^-15 meters), their interaction becomes dominated by another force, the nuclear force, whose intensity is much higher (about 100 times) than the electromagnetic (repulsive) force.

The nuclear force is also known as the strong force or the color force. This is one of the four fundamental forces that govern all the interactions in the Universe.

The nuclear force keeps together the most fundamental of elementary particles known, the quarks, which combine to form the protons and neutrons in the atomic nucleus. The nuclear force also keeps the protons together in the nucleus, despite their mutual electrostatic repulsion. Beyond the distance of 1 fm the nuclear force decreases sharply, becoming practically negligible.