Skip to main content

Strong Nuclear Force - Force Of Nature.


What is a Strong Force? 

Strong force is one of the four fundamental forces of the universe. Other forces are gravitational force, weak force, and electromagnetic force. Also, as the name suggests, it is the strongest of all four forces, 100 times stronger than electromagnetic force, million times stronger than weak nuclear force, and 100 trillion trillion trillion times stronger than gravity. The strong force acts at a very, very small distance only, it has a very short range. The strong force is responsible for keeping the nucleons (protons and neutrons) together inside the nucleus of an atom.

Credit: Science facts


The strong force is responsible for

The strong force is responsible for holding proton-proton and proton-neutron together in the nucleus. The nucleus is a dense region of the atom around which the electrons form an electron cloud. Since protons are positively charged, they repel each other. But this repulsion is neutralized, and protons are held together with this strong force.

Strong force and fundamental particles.

If we go further into nucleons, we find protons and neutrons are made up of even tiny particles called quarks. Neutrons consist of two down and one up quarks, and Proton consists of one down and two up quarks. The strong force also acts on these quarks. Strong force in the form of tiny, vibrating strings connects these quarks According to quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the quarks interact with each other by exchanging particles called gluons. Gluons are strong force-carrying particles according to 'the standard model of particle physics'. One can imagine the tiny, vibrating string that connects quarks as an exchange of force-carrying Gluons.

credit: NASA


Another peculiar thing about strong force is it gets stronger as the distance between particles increases but for a certain range or certain distance. This is a very unlikely behavior of strong force from other forces, like gravity and electromagnetism, and this phenomenon is called 'confinement'. This urges us to think of strong force as vibrating strings as the distance between quarks increases, so the strong force, just like a rubber band until a certain point where energy becomes favorable to create new quark and anti-quark pair and preventing the existence of individual quarks, so quarks never exist individually. This phenomenon is called 'quark confinement'.

The interesting property of Quarks: color charge

There is another interesting property of quarks known as a color charge (This has nothing to do with colors, as we see. Rather, it is just a name given to the property). There are three colour charges red, green and blue. And their corresponding anti-red, anti-green, and anti-blue charts

A combination of quarks must always be colour-neutral. It means that particles form from quarks or current neutral, like protons. 


 

 Where is strong force?

The strong force is in every cell of your body, every air molecule, and every atom in the universe it is what makes an atom by binding neutrons, protons, and quarks.

We can find obvious traces of strong nuclear force in stars and even in our Sun. Strong force facilitates nuclear reactions that fuse hydrogen atoms into helium and other heavier elements. This process is called nucleosynthesis.

Another prime example of a strong nuclear force is a neutron star. where the nuclear reaction dies off in a star the star starts to collapse in its own gravity forming a dense neutron Star. These neutron stars are held together by a strong force, which prevents them from collapsing further into the black hole.

Credit: NASA


How have you applied the knowledge that we have about strong force?

Nuclear energy is a great example of the application of this knowledge. We produce about 10% of global electricity using nuclear energy. We basically create process called a nuclear fission which is different from nuclear fusion. In nuclear fusion, the nucleus of the atom splits into two or more nuclei (nuclei is the plural form of the nucleus) along with releasing a tremendous amount of energy this is the same working principle that we use in creating atomic bombs. Watch the below video to learn about Nuclear energy.


Where we don't understand strong force?

Quark confinement as mentioned before Is that Quarks is never isolated but why? remains a mystery. We probably have a theoretical framework, but this becomes a complex phenomenon that is not yet completely understood.

Though we completely do not understand strong force why it exists or what causes it? We understand that it is the force that binds nucleons and is a very, very strong force and is confined to a specific smaller range and we are also able to use it, and probably use it for the beneficiary of humanity.

Comments

Popular Posts

The Electrifying Life of Michael Faraday: From Apprentice to Scientific Giant.

In the annals of scientific history, few names shine as brightly as Michael Faraday. A man of humble beginnings, Faraday's life journey is a testament to the power of curiosity, determination, and unquenchable passion for science. His groundbreaking work in the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry revolutionized the world, earning him a place as one of the most influential experimentalists of the 19th century. Join us as we embark on a journey through the electrifying life of Michael Faraday. Early Life and Struggles Michael Faraday was born on September 22, 1791, in Newington Butts, Surrey, England. He was the third of four children born to a blacksmith and his wife. Faraday's family lived in poverty, and his early education was minimal. He left school at the age of 13 to work as an errand boy, and his prospects for a bright future seemed dim. However, his relentless thirst for knowledge would soon set him on a remarkable path. The Turning Point Faraday's life t...

How Much Energy Does The Universe Have? - Zero Energy Universe.

We probably know the law of conservation of energy .  'Energy can neither be created nor destroyed.' So if we think about it for a while, a natural and obvious question arises, What is the total amount of energy available in the universe? There must be a constant value of energy in the universe since the energy can neither be created nor destroyed. So let's answer this question in this blog. What if I say that there is zero total amount of energy in the Universe? In other words, nothing is not nothing. Nothing can arrange itself in such a way that it becomes something. This hypothesis, that the total amount of energy in the universe is exactly zero and such a Universe is called a zero-energy universe . For eg : 0 can be written as 0 = -1 +1 = -1987632 + 1987632 = +89000000 - 89000000. but actually, 0 is divided into +10 power 69 and -10 power 69 joules of energy in the universe. Similarly, there is positive energy in the form of matter-energy and negative energy in the form...

What is Matter made of? Standard Model of Elementary Particles explained.

What is this all made of?  What is the fundamental building block of this universe? These kinds of questions have bugged many great thinkers for hundreds of years. In this blog, let us discuss the most updated model humans have come up with to answer this fundamental question i.e. what is all this made of? Technically, if you modify this question, then it would be something like, what is all 'matter' made of? In ancient cultures, this substance should be individual (Cannot be further divided) And they called it an atom (derived from the Greek word atomos, meaning uncuttable). But further studies discovered that this atom can be further divided and thus the discovery of subatomic particles, electrons, neutrons, and protons was established. For a short period of time, these were considered as indivisible particles. But this understanding was put into question by Murray Gell-Mann in his 'Quark theory'. This theory was further developed, and currently, we have 'The Sta...